Kinder Morgan has begun surveying conservation and parkland on
Burnaby Mountain, unceded Coast Salish Territories.
The giant US oil pipeline company plans to clear parkland and build a
helicopter pad in preparation for boring a tunnel through the Northridge of
Burnaby Mountain contrary to city bylaws.
The purpose of the tunnel
will be to transport crude tar sands oil from the storage tanks at Forest Hill
to Westridge Terminal. Many geologists and seismologists are concerned that the
Northridge will be subject to extreme shaking in the event of even a moderate
earthquake putting at risk the pipeline, the huge oil storage tanks at Forest
Hill and the Aframax tankers at Westridge terminal. A moderate earthquake to
the huge tanks, pipeline and terminal would make the 2007 pipeline spill at
Westridge minor in comparison.
To help protect conservation and parkland and to
support the enforcement of city bylaws, residents of BC will meet on Burnaby
Mountain overlooking the proposed helicopter pad. The convergence of people will take place on September 13 at 2:00 PM,
at Burnaby Mountain Park (near Horizons Restaurant), 100 Centennial Way.
The convergence of people is a celebration of
conservation and parkland with music and speakers. The City of Burnaby will
issue a stop work order as soon as Kinder Morgan crews begin clearing land or
disturbing wildlife, but people must rally to show support to protect Burnaby
Mountain and the entire Burrard Inlet. People have power only if they work
together.
Music and speakers TBA
*
"At the heart of a democracy is the idea of
publicness: what are the needs, views, and challenges of the public? What is of
public concern, and who and what composes this idea of the public sphere?
Public—belonging to the people—the notion of our shared locales and times, the
shared resources we depend upon, and our shared responsibilities to each other
and to these places and resources: this is, ultimately, what we mean by
democracy.
"Now, what might we, the general public, make
of the National Energy Board’s decision to allow Big Oil company Kinder Morgan
access to public lands—despite public concerns and the opposition of duly
elected civic representatives—to begin exploration for its pipeline expansion?
What are we to make of this private company entering a public park and nature
preserve to cut a right of way, and clear for a helipad, for the expansion of
its private profits? What are we to make of this company’s proposal to drill
through Burnaby Mountain, sending its pipeline through this park, and under a
public university? Add to this the fact that these are the unceded lands of the
Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, which has been steadfast in its opposition to
Kinder Morgan expansion, and there is only one thing we can conclude: this is a
colonial land-grab and an anti-democratic public outrage. And there is only one
thing we, the public, can do: get up, stand up, and defend what we all share
and depend upon—clean water, a liveable climate, and a safe and healthy public
sphere." (Dr. Stephen Collis, Simon Fraser University)