Dr . Regina Siongco , Inc . General Dentistry
A12 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30 ,, 2016
Dr . Regina Siongco , Inc . General Dentistry
603-4980 Kingsway , Burnaby , BC V5H 4K7Phone ( 604 ) 434-3013 • Fax ( 604 ) 434-3077 Clinic Hours : Tuesday , Thursday and Saturday : 8AM to 5PM Wednesday : 10AM to 7PM • Friday : 9AM to 6PM
Dr . Regina Siongco
Cover Story
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on November 29 that his government has approved Kinder Morgan ’ s proposal to triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby , B . C .
Trudeau also said that his government signed off on one other major pipeline , Enbridge Inc .’ s Line 3 .
The prime minister , however , said that his cabinet rejected the Northern Gateway pipeline proposed by Enbridge from Alberta to B . C .
The two approved
projects – Kinder Morgan ’ s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and Line 3 of Enbridge , will pump nearly a million more barrels of oil a day from Alberta ’ s oilsands to global markets .
The prime minister said production from Alberta ’ s oilsands is increasing , and current pipeline infrastructure will soon be at capacity .
“ The decision we took today is the one that is in the best interests of Canada ,” Trudeau said in announcing his government ’ s support for the two major projects . “ It is a major win for Canadian workers , for Canadian families and the Canadian economy , now and into the future .”
Vancouver Mayor Robertson said he was “ profoundly disappointed ” by the decision about Kinder Morgan ’ s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion .
“ Vancouver ’ s work with the federal government on transit , housing , welcoming refugees and other shared priorities has been overwhelmingly positive , but approving Kinder Morgan ’ s heavy oil pipeline expansion is a big step backwards for Canada ’ s environment and economy ,” he said in a written statement .
In his statement , Robertson said an expanded heavy oil pipeline and more tankers will put Vancouver ’ s
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economy at risk , and did so at a time that was more appropriate to aggressively shift to a clean energy future . He suggested his campaign against the twinned pipeline was not over yet .
“ I – along with the tens of thousands of residents , local First Nations , and other Metro Vancouver cities who told the federal government a resounding ‘ no ’ to this project – will keep speaking out against this pipeline expansion that doesn ’ t make sense for our economic or environmental future ,” he
said .
The government of B . C . Liberal Premier Christy Clark has repeatedly said that the Kinder Morgan expansion has so far failed to meet B . C .’ s five conditions , which require world-leading spill response on land and ocean , First Nations consultation and an economic benefit for the province .
B . C . Environment Minister Mary Polak said the province will continue to work to ensure each of its conditions are met .
“ Because we have taken that clear and principled approach to stand up for our province , we have seen the proponent and the federal government take actions , including Ottawa ’ s recent Ocean Protection Plan ,” she said in a statement .
Clark has said that if Ottawa approves Kinder Morgan , it will be Trudeau ’ s job to personally come to the British Columbia and justify himself .
“ If the federal government green lights Kinder Morgan , it ’ s going to be the prime minister ’ s job to come to our province and explain why the project is in the national interest ,” Clark told reporters the day before Ottawa ’ s announcement .
“ That will be his job should they decide to approve
Trudeau approve pipelines , but re
it .
“ I think most people would say in our province the most important element of this is making sure that our coast is protected from a catastrophic spill . I think that ’ s what most people would tell you is the No . 1 concern . And I think that ’ s going to be the area where the prime minister is going to need to put most of his focus to convince British Columbians , if he decided to approve it , that they ’ ve met our expectations ,” Clark said .
Derek Corrigan , the mayor of Burnaby , called the decision depressing .
“ We ’ ve put so much work into trying to convince the Trudeau Government that this process was so deeply flawed that it ’ s unreliable and that the information they received wasn ’ t credible . To have them dismiss ( that ) as ‘ politics ’ is really offensive .”
Corrigan said the next step would be “ to exhaust all of our possible remedies through the courts .”
He noted that court proceedings against the project are already pending and said more litigation stemming from the decision “ certainly from First Nations if not by the cities ” was likely .
The mayor expected Burnaby would continue to be a centre for public protest against the project and hoped if there was civil disobedience it would be done peacefully .
Corrigan estimated that the decision may have eroded confidence in the Trudeau and his government . “ He has presented himself as an advocate for dealing with climate change , for taking action on issues surrounding energy , and instead he ’ s shown us that he ’ s no different than the conservative government that he followed .”
Although Ottawa announced new resources for B . C .’ s coast guard and spill response this month , B . C . had said it was only good enough to meet the current ocean tanker traffic and not expanded pipelines .
B . C . Finance Minister Mike de Jong said before the federal government made its pipeline announcement that environmental protection remained the key issue for B . C ., even before figuring out a way to share the financial benefits .
“ First and foremost we want to ensure that the environmental protections