Pipelines and parks can co-exist, says McLeod
NEWS/ POLITICS — Pipelines and parks can co-exist, says Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod.
In an exchange with an Opposition MP in the House of Commons this week, McLeod said Jasper National Park is “a phenomenal treasure” though Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline runs through it.
McLeod, who is parliamentary secretary to the minster of labour and for Western Economic Diversification, was responding to NDP Scarbourgh-Rouge River MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan during debate over the Rouge National Urban Park Act and environmental protection of the Rouge River.
MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan.
Sitsabaiesan said the Ontario river is threatened by changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that relax requirements for stop valves on both sides of pipelines that traverse rivers.
“The changes ensure that the Rouge River, which is the main waterway in Rouge Park, is not a protected waterway,” she said. “There is a pipeline going through it, and we need to make sure that there are protective measures and that there are valves on each side of the river to stop the flow into the waterway.”
McLeod joined the debate to say, “I know that the New Democratic Party is anti-pipeline going anywhere. I do not know if the member is aware, but the Kinder Morgan pipeline goes through our beautiful Jasper National Park, and has for many years.
“I do not think there is anyone in the House who would say that Jasper National Park is not a phenomenal treasure. The Kinder Morgan Pipeline supplies 90 per cent of the gas to the Lower Mainland.”
McLeod added that the pipeline “has gone through my riding for many years.”
She asked, “Is she (Sitsabaiesan) saying that Jasper National Park is less of a park because it has a pipeline that has gone through it safely for over 60 years and that pipelines and protected and treasured areas cannot coexist?”
Sitsabaiesan replied that all national parks need to be protected. She said if there was a spill in the Rouge River “as happened in Kalamazoo, then my park, the river, the watershed, and the groundwater tables will be ruined. That is what I want to prevent.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
It is my sincerely hope that in light of the recent announcement that the Province can be convinced to have a critical examination of the forth coming legislation, and its implications to the ecology and ecosystems of the Rouge Valley before signing over the titles of the Provincial portion of the Land Assembly to the Federal government. There are many thousands of people who have worked for decades, and spent many millions on dollars to have this land set aside and protected as an urban wilderness area. As the Federal Government has not met many of its legal commitments to protecting endangered species and habitats, we want to ensure this new legislation conforms to all provincial laws and regulations, and meets a test of maintaining the ecological integrity of these sensitive ecosystems and ecosystem services; and is properly resourced, structured and organized to do so. It is our sincere hope that this formal review process will be completed in advance of any legal land transfers to Parks Canada. This was a bottom up process that began in the 1970’s, and despite what the media releases imply, there has been almost no involvement by the people of the province in this process, and even less open communication about the decisions being made. This is particularly concerning to the community members and groups that worked for decades to get the Park protected in the first place. This is a concern for a “Peoples Park” where the people have been left out of the process. Please have a long hard and critical examination of this legislation before signing over one of the GTA’s most ecological important areas. We recommend taking a look at how the other National Parks have been managed to date, and the state of their ecosystems, species and habitats outlined in Parks Canada’s own State of the Parks Reporting.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/bib-lib/docs5hi.aspx
It is troubling that most Parks have not had the work completed or updated despite many stressors and declines being noted, and no mention of what is being actively undertaken to resolve the issues. There are a number of concerns that community members have raised around this National Park development process and we hope the province will take a leadership role in this regard while they still have a role to play.
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And the puppet speaks again. We all know who pulls your strings Cathy, and we are not stupid. Keep that in mind for 2015, so you don’t have to wonder why you are out of work.
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Rathika Sitsabaiesan is standing on guard for us because our government is not. Kalamazoo was NOT AN ACCIDENT. It occurred on flat land, near a road at a factory weld. The actual rupture was caused when pressure was increased on the pipeline from 50 to 200 psi, according to the NTSB. Enbridge knew about cracks in the section of pipeline in 2005, but did not realize at the time how deep they actually were.
“In 2005, Enbridge detected the very defect that led to this failure — located within a corrosion area that Enbridge had identified the year before,” Hersman said. “Yet, for five years they did nothing to address the corrosion or cracking at the rupture site — and the problem festered.”
Jennifer Gray, a state toxicologist, says people swimming in the Kalamazoo River should try to avoid oil sheen or tar balls which may cause temporary skin irritation. Federal regulators have ordered the company to clean up another 180,000 gallons that’s mixed in with sediment on the river bottom. Regulators say the dredging will remove at least 12,000 gallons of oil. The rest of the oil will slowly get removed with sediment traps over time – or it’ll stay where it is.
Can we learn from others?
The Trans Mountain Engineers have done excellent work compared to these.
Why is Enbridge even allowed into Canada?
Our National anthem mentions 9 times that we stand on guard for Canada. Our government should as well.
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