Kinder Morgan, the Conservatives' second most favourite pipeline operator, has spoken to the municipalities and people of British Columbia. Resist us and we'll crush you.
In its clumsy handling of its proposed pipeline expansion to bring diluted bitumen to Vancouver, Kinder Morgan - through its pipeline subsidiary Trans Mountain Pipeline - has alienated the city of Burnaby, the city of Vancouver and, well, [the rest of us to boot.]
As part of its survey work, it took down trees in a public park. When the city of Burnaby tried to stop the work in the park, the company turned to the National Energy Board, which - no surprise this - overrode the city's objections, which, Burnaby insists, the NEB did not have the jurisdictional power to do so.
When protesters confronted Trans Mountain survey crews within the park, the company filed for an injunction against them and then, piling on, filed suit for damages against four individual protesters and a citzen's group.
It's pretty obvious how to solve this problem. Turn out en masse to overwhelm this corporate bully whenever and wherever possible. Don't house them in your hotels. Don't feed them in your restaurants. Treat them just like the vermin they emulate. They can sue four people and hope to intimidate the rest. See how they do when we turn out by the thousands.
We need to show these sphincters on the board of Kinder Morgan, and every other Alberta oil nazi that we have a right of free speech, the right to dissent and the right to protest their efforts to imperil our province and our coast. They are not us. They are not of us. They are not of our province, British Columbia.
Big Oil's bully boy tactics suggest a desperation. They're at some point where they're prepared to radicalize the population against them. Sooner or later that leads to violence. I won't be part of it. I won't condone it. Understand it? Yeah, absolutely. As for Kinder Morgan and their crews - well they can't say they didn't provoke anger and outrage.
3 comments:
. no surprise here.. after all, that's the message from public servant Stephen (prorogue) Harper to the citizens of Canada. And he has the budget and thousands of 'Justice' lawyers to continue his attempt via appeals, legal failures, attacks upon The Constitution, Omnibus Bill outrages etc. We did get a peek at his reality during the attack on Parliament.. it was into a closet & no if and no buts about it.. Harper hid. The Harper Hubris Syndrome is real
The crowdfunded legal defence fund is linked at that column. I gave a couple bucks. I just looked and it's at $38,970. Well worth donating a few smackers IMO, just for the feeling that you were in on giving the bastards one in the eye.
This is the first taste of what seems bound to become a very oppressive situation. This oil company "bully boy" tactic can radicalize some dissidents. From conversations with some First Nations activists I get the sense they see this as a fight they cannot afford to lose.
I wish I had some confidence in Trudeau or Mulcair but I don't. Mulcair is getting used to talking tough but he'll back Kinder Morgan and Trudeau already does.
@ PLG- yeah, thanks for pointing that out. I, too, have chipped in to the defence fund.
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