Sixty-eight per cent of British Columbians favour halting the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline proposal to allow the federal government to complete a promised overhaul of Canada’s environmental assessment process, according to a poll released today by Justason Market Intelligence.
There is agreement in all parts of the province that the Kinder Morgan review should be halted, with 42 per cent of respondents saying they “strongly agree” compared to 10 per cent who “strongly disagree” with stopping the review.
“It comes as no surprise that British Columbians would like the review of the Kinder Morgan pipeline halted until confidence in the process is restored,” says Barb Justason, Principal at Justason Market Intelligence, the pollster that conducted the survey. “A legacy of the previous government is distrust in Canada’s environmental assessment process and the National Energy Board.”
“The results of this poll show that British Columbians are looking to the federal government to show that it is serious about following through on its platform commitment to rebuild a credible pipeline review process,” says Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance, the nonprofit that sponsored the poll.
“It makes sense to immediately stop the current review until a stronger regime is established. The Prime Minister needs to send a clear signal now that his government will not be approving any projects that have been assessed under the current flawed process,” adds Wilhelmson.
Prime Minister Trudeau pledged during his election campaign to restore credibility and trust to the environmental assessment process, including the National Energy Board. Specifically, the Liberal Party committed to meaningful public participation; fulfilling consultation, accommodation and consent obligations to Indigenous Peoples; including an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from projects; and decision making that is based on science and that serves the public’s interest.
While on the campaign trail, the Prime Minister also affirmed that the review of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline proposal would need to be ‘redone.’
“Continuing any further in a process that fails to assess the pipeline’s climate impacts, and has suffered such a significant loss of public trust, is a waste of time,” says Wilhelmson. “We are calling on the government to decisively halt the process before taxpayers spend more money on something that will ultimately have to be redone.”
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About the survey
Justason Market Intelligence conducted a hybrid online/telephone touch-tone survey of 1,048 adults in BC, including oversample, between November 25 and November 29, 2015. The margin of error is ±4.4 percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.
About Justason Market Intelligence
Justason Market Intelligence is a full-service opinion research and intelligence firm owned and operated in Vancouver, Canada. The firm offers the complete range of survey research and qualitative methodologies.
About Georgia Strait Alliance
Formed in 1990, Georgia Strait Alliance is the only conservation group working to protect and restore the marine environment and promote the sustainability of Georgia Strait, its adjoining waters and communities. It is an intervenor in the National Energy Board’s review of the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
Media Contacts
Barb Justason
Principal
Justason Market Intelligence Inc,
604-783-4165
Barb@JustasonMI.com
Christianne Wilhelmson
Executive Director
Georgia Strait Alliance
604-862-7579
christianne@georgiastrait.org