More calls for transparency from both sides in BC pipeline battle

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The battle over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion hits downtown Vancouver tomorrow, with a pro-Kinder Morgan rally set to take place at Jack Poole Plaza.

But as proponents of the project try to counter all the protests against the pipeline, there are more calls for transparency from both sides about who is fueling the fight.

There have been accusations environmentalists are being propped up by interests outside of BC, but the head of a non-partisan group that tracks government trust issues says it goes both ways — intervenors on each side should disclose their backing.

“I’d like to think right now, given the state of campaign financing reform in BC, that they shouldn’t need to be forced to do it. It should be something they voluntarily do,” says Dermod Travis with IntegrityBC.

“I think we also have to understand that the Kinder Morgan pipeline is not just an issue that affects British Columbia or Alberta, it also affects Washington state. The government in that state has raised issues of concern with the government of Canada on the pipeline so it’s not unreasonable to see cross border activity on such an issue,” he says.

“But when you monitor both sides in this debate — and in other debates such as this — you see this constant reference to ‘where is your money coming from?’ I think the best way for all groups on both sides is to simply voluntarily disclose where their money is coming from and let the general public make the conclusions that it wants from that.”

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However, Travis believes outside influence is shaping the pipeline narrative in BC less than people think.

“There is a belief that there are thousands of third-party organizations out there, raising millions of dollars to fight on both sides of the battle. That is simply not the case,” he explains.

“If you look at the number of third party intervenors in the last federal election and the last BC election, it’s an incredibly small number compared to what I think the public perception is — less than 200 in both cases — and both have restrictions on how much they can spend.”

But Travis says it is hard to track exactly how much money is flowing to either side of the pipeline debate.

“When you look at the disclosure requirements in Canada and the United States, one thing that jumps out at me is the fact I can find out how much Kinder Morgan has spent on lobbying in Washington, DC. I can’t find out how much Kinder Morgan has spent on lobbying in British Columbia or Canada because they are not required to disclose that here,” he says.

“So the argument about disclosure does cut both ways and I think it’s important that we keep focus on the fact. We shouldn’t be saying that environmental activists are somehow radical because they are organizing and spending money and not see the other side doing the same. It doesn’t work that way. Both sides are organizing a public relations battle — which is protected under our constitution — so let’s have it as transparent as possible,” Travis adds.

“Let’s have non-governmental organizations disclose where their money is coming from and let’s have proponents where their money is going to so that the public has a better sense of how to make their own judgments and a decision on the project.”

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