What do driverless ore-hauling trucks and BC wine have to do with each other? More than you might think when it comes to the Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley's claims that she is leading the fight to “Keep Canada Working” by trying to force through the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion and increase Alberta Tar Sands production.
Things escalated recently when the BC NDP provincial government announced it would limit the increase of diluted bitumen transportation through the province until an independent scientific advisory panel could make recommendations on if or how heavy oils can be safely transported and, if spilled, cleaned up. Soon after Premier Notley announced a strange and provocative ban on BC wine entering Alberta. That trade had totalled 70 million dollars in 2017.
Dirty Secret
Bitumen is the kind of crude oil found in the Alberta Tar Sands. It's the heaviest crude oil used today – too heavy to be transported through pipelines. It must be diluted with chemicals for this to happen. In the case of a Enbridge's 2010 pipeline spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, these chemicals quickly evaporated leaving the bitumen to sink to the bottom of the the river and create a clean-up nightmare. Commonly known as “The Dilbit Disaster”, it took years to even re-open the river and cost over 1.2 billion dollars to clean.
If Kinder's Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is built, it would more than double the pipeline’s capacity, from 300,000 barrels of dilbit per day to 890,000. It would also increase tanker traffic seven-fold, from five to 34 a month in the Vancouver Harbour area. With no proven way to really manage a dilbit oil spill, you can see why the Alberta government and Kinder Morgan are so concerned about a scientific review. They know the answer would be negative.
Oil and Wine
The ensuing battle dominated news headlines across Canada – and showed again how dynamic this issue is. Immediately a grassroots campaign to buy BC wine with widely used hashtages like, “#PinoitNotPipelines” and “#ToastTheCoast” spread in BC and across Canada. Notley looked petty and reactive, and tried to counter with an online petition to “Keep Canada Working” by building the Kinder Morgan pipeline.
In the end the dispute ended with whimper, not a bang. Notley dropped the wine ban while BC NDP Premier John Horgan announced he would not move ahead with reviewing limits on diluted bitumen shipments until he got court approval.
Missed Opportunity
Horgan's decision to back down was disappointing for many. While the campaign to drink more BC wine wasn't particularly radical, the immediate and broad response shows how energized opposition to the pipeline is. A recent survey found that 10 percent of BC residents are willing to engage in civil disobedience to stop its construction – that's over 400,000 people. Even right-wing pundits like Margeret Wente are writing columns in the Globe and Mail titled, “The Trans Mountain pipeline will never be built.” Her reasoning? “Because despite the approval of the National Energy Board 15 months ago, opposition to the pipeline has only grown.” Popular investment analysis site Seeking Alpha just published a new report titled which summarize that, “the tension between B.C. and Alberta has only intensified and the fate of Trans Mountain has been thrown into turmoil as there is no end in sight for the current deadlock.”
So it doesn't make sense for the BC NDP to step back when there's every indication that they have support for their position, and a clear advantage in the dispute.
This comes at a time when there's no room to waver. Kinder Morgan CEO Ian Anderson recently reaffirmed, “We are not close to pulling the pin. We are focused on creating the environment and the certainty that we need.” Their first order of pipe has already arrived at Kinder Morgan's facilities in Alberta and they will spend 1.5 million on the pipeline this year.
They Don't Care About Us
So where do these driverless ore-hauling trucks come into the picture? Oil giant Suncor is buying 400 of them in a bid to cut Tar Sands workers. It was also big oil companies in Alberta who demanded and got changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2006 – allowing them to fast track hiring of vulnerable and cheaper workers from oversees – and use them to replace and to drive wages down for everyone in Alberta.
In October 2013, Fort McMurray Today reported that 270 oil workers were laid off from Husky Energy's Sunrise project. Temporary foreign workers were then brought in to do the job. The Financial Post also reported that another 65 ironworkers at Imperial Oil's Kearl oilsands mine in Alberta were laid off and replaced by temporary foreign workers.
We do not condemn temporary foreign workers – who come from desperate situations to try and earn a living for their families. Rather – we need to remember that big oil corporations don't care about the planet and they certainly don't care about people either. They drive down wages and get rid of workers every chance they get.
In a more broader view – the Tar Sands are a limited resource which is massively and unnecessarily contributing to a growing climate crisis. It is absurd to breath new life into a dying industry which is trying to drag the planet down with it. The possibilities for renewable energy – and of course all the jobs associated with building this growing sector – are massive.
We Must Lead
So will Rachel Notley really “Keep Canada Working” by bowing to big oil companies? Not a snowball's chance in hell (or on earth if we continue to allow global warming to overtake the planet). We are also seeing time and time again that we need to rely on an independent climate justice movement to lead the fight against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. The current BC NDP provincial government might help buy us some time to organize, but they haven't shown themselves to be ready, willing or able to lead the fight.
Fortunately, as even the right-wing understand, opposition is growing. On March 10, there is an indigenous led mass mobilization happening in Burnaby, where Kinder Morgan is currently expanding its Marine Terminal for the pipeline. This mobilization promises to be the start or more sustained actions, and already almost 5000 people have committed to participating. This is the kind of leadership we need, and this is who is really defending the future.
Kinder Morgan, We Still Say No!
All Out for March 10
Follow Thomas Davies on Twitter: @thomasdavies59
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