Stephen Harper`s Kangaroo Court, Enbridge Edition

Written by Grant G


Here we are, Monday February 4th,  coastal First Nations have announced that they can fight no more against Enbridge, legal fee funds have been exhausted, for the remaining hearing days scheduled in front of the Joint Review Panel coastal First Nations will present no more argument..So this means what, Stephen Harper won, Enbridge won, big oil won....

No, it means the day has finally arrived, the day where sane man says enough is enough, the court, this court, kangaroo at best but more often than not it was mere form, in body, in structure in scheduling. protocol was followed almost to the letter all through this mock stageplay, everything was there, door attendants, visual effects, graphs, charts, time limited speaker after time limited speaker, we had testimony, heresay and suppositions, we had spin, bluster and outright lies but there is one thing these Enbridge hearings never had, and that was realism, it never was legitimate, the process I mean..

Speaker after impassioned speaker, from the very aged to the very young, hundreds have poured their hearts and souls into wisdom and words, told lifestories and forewarned of the past, present and future weather extremes, they talked of generational sustainability of seafood bounties, of water, of pure clean river systems, of water, of water, of water without oil sheen..Generational recounts of salmon returning every year to nurture both man and forest, stories that come from within, open souls without money, without power or influence, voices carrying nothing but the untarnished weight of truth and resolve...

The Enbridge "public" Review Hearings ended some time ago for me, when dialogue becomes muzzled, when guards outnumber speakers, when Enbridge lawyer(s), employees and paid propaganda-ists are allowed a powerful front seat position while the public, while the masses are re-directed miles away, a now public hearing turned into a secret pre-determined outcome star chamber..

When the public was shut out of the hearings any legitimacy they had all but vanished, even before First Nations bowed out, even before the public was shut out, fairness, law, rules and predetermined outcomes were mandated against us by a totalitarian, Stephen Harper granted himself all over-encompassing authority to approve any pipeline regardless of any review panel`s findings..Joe Oliver calling concerned people, calling seniors and students, calling First Nations, environmentalists, nature lovers, calling charities, scientists, biologists, calling most British Columbians "Terrorists, NIMBY`s'," calling us conned and controlled by environmental groups like Tides Canada, Greenpeace, Eco-Justice, Joe Oliver and Stephen Harper told all us in British Columbia to Shut The Fluck Up and get out of his way as big Chinese oil Governments and corporate spinners spent the house`s money to bend, distort and divide us..

Vivian Krauss with her one-sided spin game, Enbridge with carpet bombing promotional persuasion campaigns, Enbridge caught lying about First Nations, support, caught bribing unwitting First Nation elders, Enbridge caught hiding oil under canvas, under grass, under sand, over 1000 major oil spills by Enbridge, oil spills before the hearings started, oil spills during the hearings and they will be spilling oil still after..

Enbridge has been described as Keystone cops, a poor company record, a company that intimidates and litigates communities into submission..Dilbit in water can`t be cleaned up, pipeline shut-off valves can`t stop the hammer affect, when pipes break or split open you can`t stop the momentum of moving oil, hundreds of thousands of barrels will spill, and they want to cross 800 BC rivers and streams, a major tanker spill will destroy sustainable generational lifestyles and commerce for hundreds of thousands of British Columbians

It isn`t about domestic supply or a national energy strategy, Eastern Canada imports nearly 1 Million barrels of oil from foreign countries every single day, Harper and Enbridge could care less, wouldn`t a real prime minister make Canada self-sufficient first, why not fill that domestic void first, a guaranteed million barrel per day market within Canada beckons while BC is threatened by a denier.

Hecate strait and Douglas channel, 3rd most dangerous waterway in the world, hurricane force storms happen many times per year and Enbridge washes it`s hands of any marine liability, the company has limited inland liability too..

Their notorious Kalamazoo river spill in Michigan is over $1 billion in clean up costs and..It ain`t cleaned up, there is a 1000 reasons not to build a toxic dirty dilbit pipeline through a pristine one of a kind temperate rain forest, all 1000 plus reasons have been presented to the Joint Review Panel by Canadian voices

There has been more than enough information provided to end these hearings, the fact that we are still talking about and the hearings continue proves how flawed the process is, in court, in law, in a world of natural justice how many times must we beat Enbridge down to the mat to win, how many times must Enbridge get caught lying, bribing, cheating, intimidating, how much money must Enbridge spend on propaganda to buy even a scant fraction of support, how many times must this environmental abuser and destroyer of wildlife Enbridge corporation be beaten back..

No, these hearings are over, Stephen Harper will attempt to ram this project through with his own personal royal assent, it won`t matter, this will go to our supreme courts, they will decide..These justices will have much to ponder, will they choose to turn down Harper`s economic national good argument, will a court go against a voter mandated and fresh to power BC NDP Government who are staunchly opposed to Enbridge, will those Justices go against 80% of all British Columbia`s populous opposed to Gateway, will a supreme court rule against BC First Nations who are not bound by treaty, will a supreme court justice distinguish the difference between consultation and accommodation, if one can`t be accommodated then isn`t consultation a moot point..

Will a Supreme court magistrate make a ruling that will spawn violence in our forest, a war in the woods decision, for when Enbridge and Stephen Harper take away legitimacy and Democracy, when corporate agenda trumps common sense, when spin, lies and bluster stomp on people`s future, poison one`s water and pollute our food source not only is war in the woods possible it`s expected, and justified..

Enbridge and pipeline trials will wind their way through our Supreme court hallways, selected justices will have much to consider...To appease a corporate monster or start a Canadian Civil War..

The Straight Goods

Cheers Eyes Wide OPen