Editor:
Re: City of Burnaby not happy with NEB report and opinion blog The NEB chose cold, hard cash over the environment, NOW, Feb. 22
Regarding the City of Burnaby's response to the recent NEB report on the Trans Mountain Pipeline and also your own columnist Chris Campbell's biased views.
The voters of Burnaby voted for a change of mayor hoping for a more "considered and intelligent approach" to the whole pipeline issue, but it would appear the same old rhetoric and "fanning of the flames" is still happening. Shame on you.
This is not helpful and not really representative of many who live here in Burnaby, and if it continues will only lead to more demonstrations and city police costs (in the millions of dollars), civic strife and, ultimately, when the courts agree, the pipeline will get built anyway.
Chris Campbell can belittle the “benefits" of the project, estimated to be about $15 billion per year to Canada, from being able to sell Canadian oil to Asia, which in turn also lifts the value of all current oil exports to the USA, who have got nearly all Canadian oil at a huge discount for decades, while eastern Canada still imports oil from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere at full cost.
This just doesn't make sense.
This "new oil dividend" - the benefit of the pipeline - has to be valued for running our regional and national economy, understanding that, yes, there are risks involved with these increased exports.
But as long as reasonable conditions of this oil movement and shipping are in place and properly monitored, then many of us say this project is an “acceptable risk.”
So stop resisting and inciting the radical environmental groups to cause more trouble, or make sure "those who oppose it" pay the costs of its delay and policing and endless legal challenges, not regular city taxpayers.
Tim Savage, Burnaby
