PROTESTERS PLEASED
Wine ban draws attention
Opponents of Kinder Morgan’s $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion say they have been invigorated by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley ’s ban on B.C. wines.
The wine boycott is Alberta’s reaction to an announcement at the end of January by B.C. Premier John Horgan’s government to move to restrict bitumen shipments from Alberta pending better understanding of the behaviour of spilled bitumen and certainty regarding the ability to clean up spills.
The bitumen restriction could create obstacles for Houston-based Kinder Morgan’s plan to twin the 1,100-kilometre pipeline that would triple capacity and increase tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet.
“I think the wine boycott has backfired spectacularly. This is the national rallying cry people were looking for,” said Peter McCartney, a climate campaigner with the Wilderness Committee.
Living Oceans Society executive director Karen Wristen called the wine boycott a gift to those who oppose the pipeline expansion.
“It’s bringing new people into the fight because they view the boycott as manifestly unfair.”
It does appear the boycott has caught some national attention. Quebec activists say they are buying B.C. wine in support of opposition to the pipeline.
The Alberta government views the expanded pipeline as critical infrastructure to open new markets for Alberta oil in Asia.
Opponents include environmental groups, some First Nations and municipalities such as Burnaby and Vancouver.
The B.C. NDP government has said it will do what it can to halt the project over concerns about the risk of an oil spill.
The pipeline project was approved by Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal government last year and also had approval from the former B.C. Liberal government. Kinder Morgan has already complained of permitting delays at the municipal and provincial levels.
The company launched a technical and legal review of whether a restriction on bitumen transportation in B.C. could lawfully apply to a federally regulated project.
How long that review will take is not clear, but it will need to be informed by a B.C. government paper about its plans, which is expected to be ready by the end of the month, Trans Mountain expansion spokeswoman Ali Hounsell said in a written statement.
Meanwhile on-the-ground activities in opposition to the project also appear to be ramping up. The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, which opposes the project, is planning a major demonstration in the second week of March.
And a group has been intermittently blocking the road entrance to Kinder Morgan’s Westridge Terminal in Burnaby for six weeks. Kinder Morgan is doing some early work to increase the size of the terminal for the expanded pipeline.
The protesters arrive early in the morning, but usually leave when asked to by police several hours later. Two protesters were arrested Thursday at a work site near Highway 1 and Brunette Avenue where Trans Mountain has been doing test drilling along the intended route.
RCMP say nine people were peacefully protesting Thursday, but police were called in when the protesters began blocking equipment and highway traffic.
Protesters said in an email they “physically intervened” and forced construction to a halt on the Trans Mountain pipeline.
RCMP said a 22-year-old woman, who locked herself to a piece of drilling machinery, was arrested and could face mischief charges.
A protester identified the woman as Ezra Green.
A 23-year-old man was arrested and later released without charge.
The idea is to physically intervene and cause an immediate effect, said David Mivasair, one of the organizers of the group that calls itself informally the Justin Trudeau Brigade.
Of the effect, Mivasair said, “It takes them longer (to do their work) and costs them thousands of dollars more.”