Dear Editor:
Re: Pipeline hearing delayed, Burnaby NOW, July 18
For those opposing the pipeline, the delay is not something to rejoice about. It means that the federal cabinet will not have to give their approval prior to the next federal election.
They can avoid taking a position on the pipeline while the hearings are underway and avoid any appearance of support for the project. The reality is that the Harper Conservatives are 100 per cent in favour of the pipeline. They can, as the provincial Liberals did, take the position that they are awaiting the report from the NEB before making any decision.
They are so determined that the tar sands oil will get out of Alberta that they have given themselves power to override if necessary decisions of the NEB. The new route for the pipeline through Burnaby Mountain has the appearance of a contrived strategy to delay the hearings so that a final report will not be issued until after the next federal election.
The City of Burnaby may be an unwritten accomplice in this delaying tactic by not cooperating with Kinder Morgan to allow access to the mountain for geotechnical studies required for the tunnel. Can politics be this devious? Unfortunately, for those who have no regard for the future human life on the planet, this is a small sin.
Patrick Keogh, via email
