Government Names Ministerial Panel to Lead Kinder Morgan Consultation

The National Energy Board utterly failed to produce a fair and science-based decisionmaking process.

[Vancouver, BC] Today the Minister of Natural Resources named Ms. Kim Baird, Mr. Tony Penikett and Dr. Annette Trimbee to a Ministerial Panel to conduct the consultation process with First Nations and communities on the Kinder Morgan Pipeline proposal. While the National Energy Board (NEB) is expected to issue a recommendation to Cabinet on the proposed oil sands pipeline later this week, the panel will hold public hearings in June, September, and October. Cabinet is scheduled to make a decision on the pipeline by December.

In response, Sven Biggs, Stand campaigner, released the following statement:

“The National Energy Board utterly failed to produce a fair and science-based decisionmaking process. This panel now must get this consultation right. The NEB process ensured that the Texas oil company was heard loud and clear. The voices of First Nations and communities, the safety of our waterways and the stability of our climate are now at stake.

“The evidence continues to mount that the Kinder Morgan pipeline is unsafe. The US National Academy of Science has pointed out the extreme vulnerability of our coasts to a catastrophic oil sands spill. Our Top 7 Reasons You Can’t Trust Kinder Morgan report, published just last week, underscores the abysmal safety record of the Texas oil company.

“We welcome this new process if the panel listens to communities threatened by this project. They don’t want this pipeline and are not satisfied with the NEB. What they want is a fair hearing because once the truth about this pipeline is heard, the Cabinet will have no choice but to reject this dangerous project.”