SURVEY SHOWS 72% OF BURNABY RESIDENTS OPPOSE TRANS MOUNTAIN EXPANSION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 19, 2012

SURVEY SHOWS 72% OF BURNABY RESIDENTS OPPOSE TRANS MOUNTAIN EXPANSION

BURNABY, BC – A new survey commissioned by New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart (Burnaby-Douglas) of 35,000 households in his constituency reveals 72 per cent oppose Kinder Morgan’s plan to double the capacity of the Trans Mountain Oil pipeline.

Of those with an opinion, 28 percent support doubling pipeline capacity, 44 per cent want to keep the existing pipeline, and 28 percent want the company to remove the current pipeline infrastructure.

“Kinder Morgan is planning a massive construction project that will cut right through the heart of Burnaby,” said Stewart. “That over 4,500 people responded to the survey shows there is considerable local concern, and that 72 percent oppose the pipeline expansion shows there will be significant community opposition if the project goes ahead.”

Kinder Morgan owns the Trans Mountain pipeline which transports 300,000 barrels per day of oil products from Edmonton to Burnaby. On October 20, 2011, Kinder Morgan issued a notice of open season to secure binding 20 year transportation agreements with domestic and foreign oil companies. The open season closes January 19, 2012. The company states it will increase pipeline capacity to 700,000 barrels per day, add storage tanks in Burnaby and expand the Westridge Marine Terminal by early 2017 if the project secures sufficient commercial interest.

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Kennedy Stewart is the Associate Natural Resources Critic and member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Kennedy holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and is a tenured associate professor on leave from Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.

For more information, please contact:
Ryan Sudds, Office of Kennedy Stewart, (604) 360-4921 or Kennedy.Stewart.C1@parl.gc.ca