Police prepare for possible protest at energy forum in Vancouver

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Police in Vancouver are preparing to boost security, if needed, at a big energy forum taking place downtown Thursday and it wouldn’t be the first time protesters showed up.

Featured speakers at the event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade include Kinder Morgan Canada President Ian Anderson and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley — both support expanding the Trans Mountain oil pipeline.

“We monitor these types of events through social media and other avenues, just to make sure we’re prepared. We have a special section in our department that does this for us. We police hundreds of these types of events every year successfully and safely. At this point, we don’t have any information that this is going to be out of hand or a big event at all,” explains Vancouver Police Sergeant Jason Robillard.

Robillard adds any demonstrators showing up are expected to be peaceful, but they’re aware that could change quickly. “We are prepared… through social media, they can invite more people, it depend on the weather, a lot of other factors come into play. But right now, we don’t anticipate this being a large event.”

Security is already tight with any journalists covering the event being warned they won’t be allowed in the event without photo ID and proper credentials. During another recent event, protesters weaseled their way in by pretending to be media.


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Notley to promote Alberta energy to resistant BC crowd

There will be no shortage of things to talk about at this forum. It’s been an eventful year in the sector after investors walked away from two major projects this summer — the Pacific Northwest LNG and Aurora LNG ventures.

Notley’s trip is part of a nation-wide tour on which she is touting Alberta energy.

Hamish Telford, a political scientist with the University of the Fraser Valley, says it may be difficult for her to get her message through. “They are deeply skeptical about this oil moving through British Columbia in much greater volumes and out through the Port of Vancouver.”

He adds Notley will probably try and push the NDP brand as a more responsible party than others that may follow her in the coming years. “If you don’t like what I’m selling you, the people coming after me are not going to give you half as good a deal.”

Also in attendance will be the Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and that matters, explains Telford.

“Justin Trudeau seems to have shied away from explicitly or overtly campaigning or public lobbying for the pipeline, but he is sending [Carr] to advocate on behalf of the Government of Canada and for Rachel Notley that represents some progress.”

Even though Kinder Morgan has received the green light from the federal government to build the Trans Mountain expansion, that pipeline continues to face opposition from some First Nations groups, environmentalists and local levels of government.

 

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