The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications is conducting a cross-Canada tour of hearings to essentially market and advocate for the Energy East and Trans Mountain pipeline projects. The hearings are under the guise of a “Special Study” on the Transport of Crude Oil which is costing taxpayers $354,652. Their final report is expected to be released as early as December 2016.
The Senate Committee did not advertise their public meetings in local newspapers, they cherrypicked mostly pro-fossil fuel representatives for their speakers (see list below), and they did not invite a large number of groups and organizations involved in opposing the Energy East pipeline, many of which were already registered as Intervenors in the National Energy Board (NEB) review process (currently stalled while 3 NEB Board members are replaced).
After being excluded at the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications hearings held in Saint John on October 19th, 3 Saint John groups and 1 family physician got their chance this Wednesday night to set the record straight. The video and transcript of their presentations are compelling.
Each presenter was instructed to keep their opening presentation to 5 minutes, at which time the Senators would then go into more in-depth discussions through question and answer. A full two hours were allotted for the hearing, yet the Senators cut short their questions after only 1 hour 10 minutes. Perhaps the following challenges to the Senators were too uncomfortable for them:
David Thompson and Paula Tippett
Stop the secrecy
(Gordon Dalzell, Chairperson, Citizens Coalition for Clean Air) “In fact, these environmental community resident groups who live right beside the proposed crude oil storage tank farm were not originally notified or invited to present, and in my view, serious oversight considering the Energy East Pipeline project is one of the largest environmental issues in New Brunswick and the surrounding community, including the Bay of Fundy.”
(David Thompson, Acting Chairperson, Friends of Musquash Inc.) “It was called a public hearing, and yet the public were not told about it. We didn’t see any ads in the newspaper, and when someone called the local CBC Radio, they didn’t even know about it.”
The Chair dismissed their concerns:
(Deputy Chair Michael MacDonald, Conservative) “Notices were all posted online on the Senate website for public consumption. They were all there online, so they were given.”
Gordon Dalzell and Lynaya Astephen
Stop the bias
(Gordon Dalzell) “In respect to public confidence, on September 21, 2016, your committee was given a presentation by Peter Watson, Chair/CEO of the National Energy Board. He stressed the importance of not showing bias in any consultations. I submit that the foundation and the basis of this hearing and the whole mandate does predispose kind of a focus towards the infrastructure of pipelines or other ways to transport crude oil.”
(Lynaya Astephen, Red Head Anthony’s Cove Preservation Association) “Our group is very opposed to our tax dollars being spent on this tour, and we’re very concerned that we weren’t told about this happening. We weren’t invited. It was more proponents, unfortunately, who were invited to this. I learned from friends in Quebec that they weren’t invited either. They were given no information.”
“I came across copies of ‘Pumping Prosperity’, and another one, ‘Why Energy East Matters’, by my local senator, and I became very concerned when seeing these documents because they looked like something that TransCanada would have written, or perhaps a new CAPP ad. I’m concerned that oil and gas lobbyists may have gotten to the Senate, and I would hope that you would remain unbiased.”
Stop the cheerleading
(David Thompson) “I haven’t seen a tribunal before or people going around holding hearings who make these kind of statements in favour or against a project at the time that the hearings are going on. I’m quite shocked by this.”
“I haven’t seen a tribunal before or people going around holding hearings who make these kind of statements in favour or against a project at the time that the hearings are going on. I’m quite shocked by this.”
(Lynaya Astephen) “I came across copies of Pumping Prosperity, and another one, Why Energy East Matters, by my local senator, and I became very concerned when seeing these documents because they looked like something that TransCanada would have written, or perhaps a new CAPP ad. I’m concerned that oil and gas lobbyists may have gotten to the Senate, and I would hope that you would remain unbiased.”
(Paula Tippett, as an Individual) “Many of us are concerned about the adverse effects of our worsening climate change. A poll done last year showed that over 80 per cent of Maritimers are anxious for government investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy to create jobs now.”
(Paula Tippett) “I can understand why the Conservative senators would want to push the Liberal government into approving unpopular pipelines and why Liberal Senator Mercer had to say, “How much political capital do we want to spend here?” I would advise him to choose instead to go where the public is leading, to renewable energy and green jobs, instead of dirty oil pipelines that will prevent us from meeting our commitments to the world.”
Stop the misinformation
(Senator Betty Unger, Conservative) “Right now, a lot of oil for the East Coast is being brought in from companies like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, countries that have bad human rights records. Failing to approve pipelines doesn’t diminish global demand. Rather, it causes importing countries to source their crude oil requirements from other countries. Are you aware that because of inadequate pipeline capacity, Canada is forced to import oil from these other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela?”
(David Thompson) “….most of the oil that’s been coming into the Irving oil refinery for the last few years has been coming from the Gulf of Mexico. It’s American oil, some Mexican oil and some Canadian oil that you ship down there by pipeline. A lot of the oil coming into the Irving oil refinery, probably more that’s coming in from despotic countries, is coming in from the Canadian offshore from Hibernia and the other wells off Newfoundland. We look out into the bay here and see the tankers. So this boogeyman threat that’s being put out about getting oil from these kinds of countries doesn’t seem to hold water.”
(Senator Rob Runciman, Conservative) “But to simply say “keep the oil in the ground,” that’s not for the benefit of Canadians. I think it encourages a lot of anger in Western Canada and in other parts of this country and it’s a very short sighted.”
(Gordon Dalzell) “The old prosperity days are over in terms of the oil and gas. We are now moving forward as a society in the world and I think we’re going to see great benefits economically on jobs and development.”
Failed to demonstrate concern for Red Head and Saint John residents
The Senate Committee was provided a significant opportunity to followup on the alarming information presented by Gordon Dalzell about the existing air pollution levels of benzene generated by the Irving Oil Refinery. The levels of this human cancer-causing chemical over East Saint John exceed human health guidelines of the Province of Ontario. The Senators choose to ignore the fact that these residents already had too much oil and gas infrastructure.
(Gordon Dalzell) “I’m of the view that this massive crude oil storage terminal will be a threat to the air quality we breathe in Saint John, specifically these air toxins, VOCs, benzene and hydrogen sulphate, from these tanks, along with other existing industrial sources that are within approximately a six kilometre range of this proposed terminal.”
“I want to make information available to the committee. I would urge the committee to take a look at the 2014 air quality report that was published by the Department of the Environment. On page 15 of that report, you’ll see the benzene levels in east Saint John are elevated well above the Ontario standard. This terminal is approximately six kilometres from some of the biggest sources of benzene and VOCs in Canada. We are breathing these VOCs and benzenes in east Saint John.”
“I would ask the committee if you could incorporate and review the monitoring results for Saint John. I think it would help you to appreciate why we’re so worried about these VOCs and benzene. Thank you.”
(Senator Bob Runciman, Conservative) “Following up a bit on Senator Unger’s initial comments, your primary concern, I think, is the tank farm and the marine terminal and being placed in a vulnerable area. I think we can all appreciate that. You talk about benzene levels as well. Those are separate issues that I think can be separated from the pipeline itself in the sense that those are concerns that can be addressed through other means, for example, through changes in regulations, changes in environmental laws to address those concerns.”
Final advice for the National Energy Board
(Lynaya Astephen) “Start over at square one, meaning that all panel sessions are to be null and void. Review all decisions that were previously settled on with new eyes. The new CEO shouldn’t speak in front of pro pipeline groups as Peter Watson did to a paid audience at the Chamber of Commerce in Saint John.”
For more on the Council of Canadians campaign to stop the Energy East pipeline, please click here.
LIST OF WITNESSES CALLED FOR THIS STUDY ON THE TRANSPORT OF CRUDE OIL:
(Ottawa with video conference link to Saint John, Nov. 2, 2016)
David H. Thompson, Acting Chairperson (Friends of Musquash Inc.)
Gordon Dalzell, Chairperson (Citizens Coalition for Clean Air)
Lynaya Astephen (Red Head Anthony’s Cove Preservation Association)
Paula Tippett (As an Individual)
(Ottawa, Nov. 1, 2016)
Vivian Krause, Writer (As an Individual)
(Ottawa, Oct. 25, 2016)
Isadore Day, Ontario Regional Chief (Chiefs of Ontario)
(Halifax, Oct. 21, 2016)
The Honourable Jamie Baillie, Member of the Legislative Assembly (Cumberland South), Leader of the Opposition, Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia
Kim Himmelman, Director, Regulatory and Strategic Policy (Nova Scotia Department of Energy)
The Honourable Michel P. Samson, Minister of Energy (Nova Scotia Department of Energy)
Stephen Thomas, Energy Campaign Coordinator (Ecology Action Centre)
James Michael, Solicitor (Sipekne’katik)
Jennifer Copage, Consultation Coordinator (Sipekne’katik)
Melissa Nevin, Consultation Researcher, Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative (Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office)
Regional Chief Morley Googoo, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (Assembly of First Nations)
Captain Sean Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer (Atlantic Pilotage Authority Canada)
Twila Gaudet, Consultation Liaison Officer, Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative (Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office)
(Saint John, October 19, 2016)
Bill Breckenridge, Assistant Deputy Minister (New Brunswick Energy and Resource Development)
Bruce Fitch, Member of the Legislative Assembly (Riverview), Interim Leader of the Opposition, Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Greg Lutes, Chief of Staff, Office of the Official Opposition, Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Holly Stewart, Project Executive (New Brunswick Energy and Resource Development)
Sacha Patino, Senior Advisor (New Brunswick Energy and Resource Development)
Matt Abbott, Marine Program Coordinator (Conservation Council of New Brunswick)
Christian Matossian, Manager, Indigenous Relations, Energy East (TransCanada)
Lois Corbett, Executive Director (Conservation Council of New Brunswick)
Dick Daigle, Chairman (Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce)
David Duplisea, Chief Executive Officer (Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce)
Ron Tremblay, Grand Chief of Wolastoq & Alma Brooks (Maliseet Grand Council)
Patrick Lacroix, Manager, Stakeholder Relations New Brunswick, Energy East (TransCanada)
(Montreal)
– no list made available yet
(Calgary, Edmonton & Vancouver)
– Alberta Alaska Rail Development Corporation
– Generating for Seven Generations
– First Nations Limited Partnership
– Natural Resources Canada
– Alberta Chambers of Commerce
– Railway Association of Canada
– Canadian Pacific Railway
