Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Alberta's voice at hearings limited

B.C. has many more speakers taking part in Gateway pipeline debate

Barbara Barclay is 73 years old, lives in a historic home on the bank of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal and donates money to the Council of Canadians, a social justice group.

She is also one of the roughly 4,500 people who have asked to be heard by the national panel reviewing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.

Hearings start today in Kitimat, B.C. They are expected to last 18 months and take place across northern B.C. and Alberta.

In recent days, both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver have publicly accused "foreign interests" and environmental groups of trying to hijack proceedings.

But Barclay, who has never been west of Niagara Falls, said she is concerned about the potential for spills, damage to land that belongs to the First Nations and what appears to be the prime minister's wish to speed approval of the controversial project that would carry Alberta bitumen to tankers off the west coast.

"I believe that we should be attempting to rein in our growth overall," she said Monday.

She does not expect to appear before the joint review panel, despite signing up to make a public statement.

"I just hope that enough Canadians have the wit to speak up so that we don't have more potential risks."

Albertans who wish to speak to the panel that will evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of the pipeline are vastly outnumbered by British Columbians.

But even people who live outside the two western provinces seem to outnumber Albertan participants.

The Journal took a sample of 450 of the 4,500 public registrants on the hearings list. There are people from Brazil, Alaska, Nevada, Montreal and Toronto, 428 British Columbians and five Albertans.

The cross-section of people hoping to speak include those who identify themselves as environmental activists, union members, First Nations, fisheries workers, academics, church ministers, politicians, schoolteachers and students.

Albertans "know the project is there, but I don't think they've spent a lot of time thinking about the importance or implications of it," said Ken Chapman, executive director of the Fort McMurray-based Oilsands Developers Group. "It's a complicated set of issues, they're not top of mind, and there's nothing yet that's happening that would, I think, make the general public start to pay attention."

Andy Boyd registered to speak to the hearing panel, but the environment committee chair-man of the Sherwood Park Fish and Game Association said he has questions about the pipeline and isn't trying to block construction. His organization of 3,000 hunters, anglers and sport shooters includes people who work for the oil industry. The group is interested in "minimizing the amount of land being cleared for the development of the pipeline."

Phillip Sigmund, a retired chemical engineer who used to live in Calgary but now lives on Saltspring Island in B.C., said he wants to speak about balancing risks and rewards. "I'm not anti-Albertan," he said. "This thing has started to fall into some sort of them-versus-us game that's not good for anybody. Everyone's a stake-holder in this whole process and they should all be involved in the same way."

Alaskan Kat Haber said she learned of the hearings online, likely through a conservation organization.

Haber called Alberta's oilsands "the single biggest environmental disaster happening right now," and said she hopes to speak to the panel about alternative energy development. She compared Canada's interest in increasing oil development to offshore drilling happening in her state.

Annie Roy, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, could not offer a breakdown of where the approximately 4,500 registrants are from. Today's hearings in Kitimat - like hearings scheduled to take place in Edmonton starting Jan. 24 - will feature registered interveners expected to make lengthy presentations. Shorter presentations - about 10 minutes long, and for registrants like Barclay, Sigmund, Boyd or Haber - will take place after March.

The oil lobby group Ethicaloil.org, which has launched a new campaign called Our Decision, suggests foreigners protesting the pipeline be banned from the hearings.

Spokeswoman Kathryn Marshall acknowledged foreign-owned energy companies backing Enbridge's bid to build the pipeline present a "grey area." But, she said, "it is different, I think. Oil producers and companies working in the oilsands are employing thousands of Canadians, they are contributing to the economy, they are part of this decision."

Edmonton-based Greenpeace campaigner Mike Hudema said his organization has encouraged members to speak out on the issue, but not necessarily come to the table.

"The point is that the impacts of this pipeline and the impacts of the tarsands don't stop at Canada's borders," he said.

SPECIAL REPORT: NORTHERN GATEWAY

The Journal and the Vancouver Sun joined forces to produce this series examining Enbridge's Northern Gateway project, the regulatory process surrounding the $5.5-billion dual pipeline design and those who have the most to gain or lose. Hearings begin today in Kitimat, B.C.

SATURDAY: An overview of the players, process and issues.

A map graphic showing the pipeline's proposed route from Bruderheim to Kitimat.

SUNDAY: Political culture clash between Alberta and B.C.

The issue of pipeline leaks and tanker spills.

Major players in the debate: Environmentalists, Enbridge, business com-

MONDAY: Economic spinoffs to be felt in Alberta, B.C. and beyond.

Why not send the oil east?