Mr. Speaker, hundreds of local Burnaby residents opposed to Kinder Morgan's new crude oil pipeline are poised to be arrested for protesting in a public park on Burnaby Mountain. The Conservatives are entirely responsible for creating this situation.
The government's changes to the National Energy Board Act have completely removed the ability of British Columbians from having any voice in planning if and how this massive energy project should proceed through our community. The Conservatives have compounded this problem by calling anyone who objects to these projects a “radical”.
I can tell members that the vast majority of protestors are not radicals. They are local, law-abiding Canadians forced into this obscene position by the current Conservative government. They are parents, grandparents, university professors, teachers, students, and homeowners. They are on Burnaby Mountain because they feel their community is threatened, and they have no other way other than protesting to voice their concerns.
As the Conservatives have abandoned Burnaby and British Columbia, I am calling on Kinder Morgan president Ian Anderson to cease his company's current activities on Burnaby Mountain and not force local police to arrest my constituents.