When it comes to the National Energy Board hearings into the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline project, a process that was always going to be contentious was made worse by some clueless moves by the federal government.
The recent decision to appoint Steven Kelly to the board was mind-boggling, even for a government as imperious as this one. Mr. Kelly is an oil industry consultant who previously filed evidence to the NEB in support of Kinder Morgan's pipeline expansion. Now here was the government appointing him to the same board.
Did no one, even for a second, dare to imagine what this would look like to the public, not to mention to the army of critics opposed to the project and always on the lookout for opportunities to denounce the NEB review as a sham? Wisely, the NEB announced that it would be striking Mr. Kelly's submission from the record. Neither is Mr. Kelly part of the NEB panel reviewing the Kinder Morgan application.
But at this point it really doesn't matter. The damage has been done. It's provided critics of the pipeline and the NEB process with an opportunity to declare the entire affair rigged, even if that isn't the case.
But if we're going to look at this matter in its entire scope, we should also cast some light on the project's detractors. When the NEB process opened, we were told there would be hundreds upon hundreds of people who would want to make their objections known to the NEB panel. Those who wanted to had to apply to the NEB to be approved to participate.
The deadline to submit letters was Aug. 19. About 1,300 people were approved to submit comment. How many actually did? A paltry 375. (Recently, 35 writers and intervenors withdrew en masse over concerns about the objectivity of the NEB process. About 25 per cent of those approved to be intervenors failed to participate). Now, of course, some of those who couldn't be bothered to write a letter of comment might have been supporters of the project. But likely very few. The vast majority were people who demanded to have their voice heard on the matter. They were certainly among the hundreds that the federal and provincial NDP, and environmental organizations, said wanted to express their opposition.
Of course, some did. For instance, Kai Nagata, energy and democracy director of the environmental non-profit Dogwood Initiative, decided to offer his comments in the form of a take on Robert Service's The Cremation of Sam McGee.
"Strange schemes are hatched in the Texas path By men with oil in their veins; The Lone Star state has tales to relate That would leave your conscience stained.
Those Houston boardrooms have hosted tycoons, Greed-driven gamblers and sinners."
And on and on it goes. I wonder if members of the NEB review panel got to the end?
Mr. Nagata's letter, unfortunately, was a complete waste of the NEB's time. He admits as much in his prelude, saying that, since neither the project proponent nor federal government were taking the review process seriously, neither would his organization. If that's how he felt, why bother taking up the NEB's time at all? Why submit something so facile given the ceaseless fulminations from the project's opponents, including the Dogwood Initiative and others, that they have been shut out of the review process?
Of course, what we keep hearing is that there is no point in taking part in the process because it's stacked in favour of Kinder Morgan. Well, in fact, there is no hard evidence of that. The Kelly appointment was boneheaded to be sure, but that was at least mitigated. I'm confident that the NEB staff approved to examine this project are qualified and not on anyone's payroll.
To suggest that they are, without any proof, is a cop-out. Just as demanding to have your voice heard on the matter but not even bothering to jot down a few thoughts on paper is.
There are certainly problems with the NEB process, but they're not all of the NEB's doing. But neither are opponents of this project blameless either. If you truly believe in something, you fight to the end. Those who withdrew or didn't take the time to express their thoughts couldn't have been that committed to their positions in the first place.
Gary Mason