Editor:
When will the abuse stop?
I’m talking about what the Burnaby neighbourhoods surrounding the Trans Mountain Burnaby Mountain and Westridge Marine Terminals are enduring.
The latest is the belief that the neighbours living around the storage facility on the mountain do not need to have input into the application for night work by Trans Mountain. TM sites the need to work nights to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions and keep to schedule and states because of this, their “Condition 80.”
Fortunately the Canada Energy Regulator have issued a call for comments from concerned citizens. However the deadline for this is Dec. 1, 2020 following a letter issued to concerned landowners and neighbours on Nov. 16, 2020.
In these times of COVID-19 when people are expected to hunker down in their homes for 24 hours, they are now expected to tolerate noise, lights, dirt 24 hours a day as well for over a year. And to come up with comments in short notice in the almost fruitless hope it might have some effect on the CER and this madness might stop.
My mind goes to the ad nauseum statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that “governments grant permits, but only communities give consent.” When did these communities give permission for such devastation to their neighbourhoods?
It begins with the 1,700-plus trees removed from the mountain - the lungs of the community.
The dust, dirt and noise from the diesel trucks consistently going in and out of the gates, the horrendous noise barriers surrounding the neighbourhood, blocking light and birds, contaminated soil being hauled away through our streets, the lack of COVID protocols as evidenced by actual photographs despite approval by WorkSafe BC.
These are all evidence that government does give permission without community. We own this monstrosity - the Trans Mountain Crown Corporation - and still, as shareholders were not allowed to attend the shareholders meeting Nov. 17.
Westridge neighbours have had to tolerate lights at night, noise, traffic since day one of this expansion project approval. Now they are kept in the dark about the bore hole going through the mountain connecting the marine terminal to the mountain terminal.
Comments to the Canada Energy Regulator should be addressed to:
Mr. Jean-Denis Charlebois
Secretary of the Commission
Suite210, 517 Tenth Ave., SW
Calgary, AB T2R 0A8
RE: Trans Mountain Pipeline (ULC)
Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP)
Condition 80:
Elan Gibson, Burnaby
