It’s me and John Horgan against the world.
Today, at least that’s how it seems. And it makes me uncomfortable, to tell the truth. I can’t imagine John Horgan feels much better about it. I mean, I’ve got his back. How unsettling is that?
Of course, it’s about that Kinder Morgan thing; that pesky little development across from Cates Park, nestled at the base of Burnaby Mountain, also known as the Trans Mountain pipeline.
This week the fat really hit the fire when Kinder Morgan, the pipeline’s developer, announced it was suspending all non-essential activity on the pipeline expansion, then sat back, folded its arms, and told the federal government it has until May 31 to ensure the pipeline will get built. If Kinder Morgan doesn’t get “clarity” by that date, no pipeline for you.
Premier John and I think that might be a good thing. He thinks this project is too risky, and the more I learn about it, the more I agree. If you love this city and the ocean that surrounds it, maybe you agree too.
However, wherever else they heard the news, heads exploded.
Rachel Notley, the premier of Alberta, never mind another wine boycott, threatened to cut off B.C.’s oil and gas.
Jason Kenney, the Alberta Opposition leader, said the federal government should stop sending transfer payments to B.C.
And the Globe and Mail, Canada’s so-called national newspaper, went completely barking mad. An editorial called Kinder Morgan’s ultimatum “nothing short of an economical and constitutional disaster for Canada” and accused B.C. of usurping Ottawa’s authority and declaring guerrilla war on Kinder Morgan.
Columnist Margaret Wente proclaimed from her chic nest in Toronto’s Beaches that losing the Trans Mountain would be “a huge loss for the country, the rule of law, due process and our international reputation as a good place to invest.”
John Ibbotson, another voice from Wisdom Central on Front Street, called it a dilemma that wraps the Meech Lake Accord, the standoff at Oka and the FLQ kidnapping into “one impossibly complex crisis.” And he said “there appears to be no way out”! (My incredulous exclamation point.)
And then, as if to validate Chicken Littles everywhere, the federal cabinet held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, presumably to plot darkly about what they’re going to do to John Horgan, who dares to presume he can protect our bays and beaches from a horrible happenstance.
Have you seen that gunk they pry out of the tar sands? Well, it’s not actually tar; it just looks like tar and smells like tar and is so sticky that it has to be mixed with another toxic hydrocarbon so it will flow through a pipeline. And before Kinder Morgan folded its arms, the plan was to increase the flow of this junk through the pipeline from 300,000 barrels to nearly 900,000 a day. That’s triple the flow, but not triple the risk?
This is all supposed to be safe as houses. Except, as it’s been pointed out on numerous occasions and by numerous consultants, it’s not. The City of Vancouver says the risk of a disastrous spill could be as high as 87 per cent in the next 50 years. One million people would be affected, and Vancouver, which now gets 10 million visitors a year, would rival Chernobyl as one of the 10 Top Holidays in Hell.
I could just sit here and spill risks like diluted bitumen and all of my erstwhile friends from the east wouldn’t care. Just get out of the way Paul, and take your irritating pal John with you. In fact, anyone who opposes this great Canadian endeavour is deemed to be flouting the rule of law, which I don’t think is true. The Horgan government spends a lot of time in courtrooms trying to stop the pipeline and courtrooms are ruled by law. They’re lousy with lawyers, judges, sheriffs, bailiffs, court reporters, etc.
I have a bad feeling that the law will prevail. But it won’t be the Canadian Constitution or the Charter of Rights. It will be the law of Murphy, and with that one, there’s no court of appeal.
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Van resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected]
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