This piece originally appeared on the Dogwood website.

“Sunny ways, my friends. Sunny ways!” For most people, that line in Justin Trudeau’s victory speech two years ago heralded a return to “positive politics” after 10 years of Stephen Harper’s icy glare.

It’s also a reference to tricking someone into taking their clothes off.

As the Liberal Party website reminds us, Trudeau’s “sunny ways” is a tribute to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier (the guy on the five dollar bill). Laurier believed in disarming his opponents with charm and flattery. In 1895 he invoked one of Aesop’s fables to illustrate his political philosophy.

It goes like this: One day the Wind and the Sun were arguing about who was more powerful, when a hapless traveller passed by on the road below. The Sun said “Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin.”

The Wind started huffing and puffing. But the harder he blew, the tighter the poor human clung to his cloak. Then the Sun came out and “shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.”

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Justin Trudeau would identify with a celestial sky-king, toying with us mortals on the earth below.

During his election campaign Trudeau promised ad nauseum that “governments grant permits, but only communities can give permission.” He was talking, of course, about pipelines. But soon after winning power, his position shifted to “Father knows best”.

One year ago today, Trudeau approved Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and oil tanker proposal.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Justin Trudeau would identify with a celestial sky-king, toying with us mortals on the earth below.https://t.co/eK6TUiN4w6 @kainagata

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) November 29, 2017

If completed, the project would drain 890,000 barrels of crude oil every day to refineries in California and Washington. Like a maritime Keystone XL, it represents a last-ditch liquidation attempt by oil sands operators looking to get as much raw bitumen out of the ground as possible before demand drops.

By signing on to this desperate scheme, Trudeau put the lie to his own election promises and ignored the explicit lack of consent from First Nations communities disproportionately affected by pipeline construction, oil spills and climate risk.

This week the women of the Secwepemcul’ecw Assembly vowed to shut down any “Man Camps” Kinder Morgan tries to build in their vast North Thompson territory. As the Secwepemc declaration notes, a growing body of research is finding links between remote work camps and violence against women.

Farther south is the Nlaka’pamux village of Coldwater, whose leaders were barred from hiring lawyers when the first pipeline came through in 1952. The government handed over a lump-sum payment of $1,200 and told them to sign. The people have lived with an oil pipeline hissing over their water aquifer ever since. They don’t want to triple that risk.

Nor do the Tsleil-Waututh in Burrard Inlet, who have coaxed healthy, edible clams and other sea life to grow again in a waterway hurt for decades by industrial pollution. Or their neighbours the Squamish, who are reviving their language – a language born thousands of years ago from the very landscapes and ecosystems that would be obliterated by an oil tanker spill.

Days before Trudeau gave Kinder Morgan the green light, Tsleil-Waututh leaders flew to Ottawa to deliver, in person, their “informed withholding of consent”. What they didn’t know is the federal government was already setting up a website to announce the Kinder Morgan approval, before the leaders’ plane even landed.

What kind of self-professed feminist decides that “no” really means “yes”? In Justin Trudeau’s case, a Prime Minister who also fought to preserve discrimination against women in the Indian Act, and still refuses to provide equal health care or education funding for Indigenous children.

Some cloaks – like human rights – are too important for people to discard no matter what sunny charms are beaming down on them. Lucky for Trudeau, if his tousled hair and boyish stutter fail to change people’s minds, he has all the power of the state to enforce his will.

With two years until the next election, Trudeau will have to decide how important this Texas pipeline is to him. Important enough to expropriate reserve lands to shove a pipeline through? Important enough to do as his oil minister suggested, and send in the army to quell resistance?

Sunny ways, indeed.

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Economist Robyn Allan has a penchant for details. The former president and CEO of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia also sees the benefits of informed decision-making, which is why Allan recently wrote a myth-busting letter to federal minister of natural resources, Jim Carr, on the issue of oil pipelines.

The minister, Allan said, had been “dangerously misled” by senior ministerial staff about the economic benefits of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline project. An internal document provided to Minister Carr, and subsequently released through Freedom of Information legislation, was “riddled with factual and analytical mistakes and displays a lack of attention to detail” Allan wrote in her letter.

Among her findings, Allan stated the minister had been misinformed about the need for increased oil pipeline capacity in Canada especially when considering Canada’s pipelines — despite claims to the contrary — are not operating at full capacity and market conditions have substantially altered the oil production landscape in recent years (see Allan's evidence in the full letter below).

With the federal decision on Kinder Morgan expected to come down by December and the recent (rather spectacular) collapse of public trust in the National Energy Board, pipeline politics are heating up in Canada.

DeSmog Canada asked Allan five questions about her take on Canada’s pipeline debate and the quandary of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

.@RobynAllan: Natural Resources Minister @jimcarr_wpg ‘dangerously misled’ on $ benefits of #KinderMorgan https://t.co/KVhiWWFrXZ #bcpoli

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) October 7, 2016

Q:  What are the greatest misconceptions Canadians have about the need for new pipelines in the country?

A: The first major misconception is that there is an urgent need for new pipeline capacity to deliver Western Canadian crude oil supply to market. There is sufficient transportation infrastructure to meet market demand not only now, but up until at least 2025. 

The second major misconception is that markets in Asia exist and we need West Coast tidewater access to serve these markets.

There is no market for Alberta’s heavy oil in Asia. Oil industry groups, such as the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, make statements that suggest there is a market in Asia but these representations are not consistent with the facts.

Oil producers have been actively trying to create a market in Asia for more than half a decade. The National Energy Board granted them guaranteed access to Trans Mountain’s Westridge dock to help them do so, but their attempts have been unsuccessful. If markets in Asia ever develop it will take many years and Asian purchasers are not going to pay a higher price for Alberta’s crude than it commands in North America. 

The third major misconception is that new pipelines are needed to generate economic prosperity.

Pipeline proponents like Kinder Morgan claim that when new pipelines are built, access to markets will allow oil producers to capture higher prices on every barrel produced and these increased revenues will trickle down as increased gross domestic product, fiscal revenues and jobs.

This was the argument used to promote Northern Gateway, Keystone XL and now Trans Mountain but there is no basis in fact to support this idea. New transportation capacity will not enhance the price received for Western Canadian oil. What enhances the price of a raw resource is value added —upgrading and refining. Producers in Canada want to ship that value down the pipeline along with meaningful jobs so the benefits are realized in foreign economies. 

Q: Canadians are constantly being told we desperately need new pipelines. Is that true? Or, how do we best understand that claim?

A: When crude oil prices were rising the industry believed these prices would be sustained, and in fact, continue to rise. For a time prices were over $100US a barrel. The industry based its production projections on these high prices.

These prices made numerous projects appear economic and it was easier for oil producers to strategize to export the crude than invest in value added in Canada. Up until about 2008 a number of upgraders and new refineries were planned in Alberta. Then the plan changed to a raw resource export strategy. When bitumen is exported rather than turned into synthetic crude oil (SCO) twice as much pipeline capacity is needed per barrel of bitumen. (There is a need for pipelines to import condensate to dilute bitumen so it will flow through a pipeline and then because its still heavier than SCO it takes longer to move it back out as diluted bitumen.)

These two factors — an aggressive production outlook based on higher prices and a new strategy to export bitumen raw rather than process it in Canada — meant a huge increase in the expected need for future pipeline capacity space. These factors brought forward new pipeline projects — the first was Keystone XL. As questions began to be asked about the desirability of diluted bitumen exports the industry became concerned and turned up the heat on the need and benefits from new pipelines. 

There is no desperate need for new pipelines, but the industry — concerned that its social licence window is closing — is trying to get one approved.

Q: You complied some really interesting data on stalled or cancelled oilsands projects. Do you think we underestimate how quickly market forces can change production projections?

A: The market forces now are more normal than the high prices that stimulated the aggressive production projections. There has been a rapid expansion of crude oil production as industry tries to get it out of the ground and to market — any market — before their assets become stranded.

That behaviour has contributed to the price decline, but as we see, countries like Saudi Arabia, don’t want to lose market share. They don’t want to restrict production because the fossil fuel industry is an industry in decline. There is a structural shift occurring.

Governments all over the world acknowledge a need to limit greenhouse gasses. Canada will not meet its targets by building infrastructure to ship more heavy oil. We need to move away from fossil fuels, not subsidize their extraction by approving transportation systems to deliver more to market — to markets that don’t yet exist. We need meaningful decisions to support achievement of Canada's climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement.

Q: Did the National Energy Board err in its recommendation the federal government approve the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline?

A: The National Energy Board did not do its job. It did not hold a quasi-judicial hearing based on the rules of fairness and natural justice. It limited the scope of issues, refused to allow cross-examination, did not test the evidence, and failed to protect the public interest.

The National Energy Board report is not credible — the Board does not know if its recommendation is correct because it did not undertake any reasonable amount of due diligence to be able to arrive at a considered recommendation.

Prime Minister Trudeau knows this. He promised that the Trans Mountain review would be redone and he has betrayed Canadians by breaking that promise.

Certainly I believe that the Trans Mountain expansion is not needed and its economic impact will be negative not to mention the environmental harm it will do even without the inevitable fresh and marine water spills. However, because due process has not been followed, the NEB recommendation cannot be trusted. Until due process is followed, permission for Trans Mountain’s expansion should never be given.

Q:  Some Canadians feel like pipelines are being rammed down their throats for the benefit of the energy industry. Other Canadians feel like ignorant environmentalists just don't understand how critical new pipelines are for Canadian prosperity. The Prime Minister seems caught between the desire to please both camps. How do you make sense of this very messy national conversation?

A: Environmentalists are not ignorant and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion — first and foremost — is for the benefit of Kinder Morgan — a U.S.-based multinational that does not contribute its fair share of tax revenues.

Kinder Morgan plans to siphon $1 billion a year from the Canadian economy if this project is approved. Is this in the public interest? We don’t know: the Board refused to consider it.

The Board pretended to listen, but it refused to hear. Mr. Trudeau pretended to hear and now he’s not listening. 

The situation would not be getting messy if the elected officials who promised due process delivered on their promise. That is all that is being asked by concerned Canadians — that the due process that is our right be given. 

Robyn Allan Letter to Minister Carr re: 'Economic Benefits of Oil Pipelines' memo | September 14, 2016 by DeSmog Canada on Scribd

Image: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr. Photo: Government of Canada

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

The Tsleil-Waututh nation announced it will launch a legal challenge against the Canadian government and the National Energy Board (NEB) Friday over legal compliance and consultation with First Nations in relation to the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

At an outdoor press conference on Tsleil-Waututh territory overlooking the Burrard Inlet and Kinder Morgan facilities, Chief Maureen Thomas said her nation has been ignored by the government throughout the Trans Mountain pipeline review process.

“Today with a heavy heart we want to announce we are going to….I don’t want to use those words…but we are going to fight,” she said.

Merle Alexander, aboriginal resource lawyer with Gowlings LLP said there are a number of “procedural errors” affecting the pipeline assessment process. “If these decisions aren’t corrected now they’ll affect the entire review process,” he said.

The Tsleil-Waututh nation will commence a legal action in the federal court of appeal, challenging a number of decisions of the NEB that include failed consultation, improper project assessment and a fundamental mischaracterization of the Trans Mountain project which involves an expanded pipeline, a terminal and increased storage facilities.

“The case is really one about legal compliance,” Alexander said. “Tsleil-Waututh is forcing legal compliance with Canadian legal law as well as enforcing their own legal government.”

Rueben George of the Sacred Trust Initiative and project manager of public engagement for the Tsleil-Waututh says the legal challenge is in the interest of all Canadians.

“The actions we take are to benefit everybody,” he said, “because Canada is making the wrong decision in supporting Kinder Morgan.”

“Since time immemorial we have been stewards of our land and we have a track record of taking care of our people.”

“I’ve had the land and waters feed my spirit. Everything we get out of the water is goodness."

“What that is over there is Kinder Morgan,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder to Kinder Morgan’s storage facilities. “What they put in the water isn’t goodness.”

In 2007 the Trans Mountain pipeline ruptured in a Burnaby neighbourhood after a road crew’s excavator accidentally hit the line. Roughly 250,000 litres of oil spilled into the community with 70,000 litres entering the Burrard Inlet.

The proposed pipeline expansion would increase the line’s capacity from 300,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil per day. The increase in capacity could quadruple the number of oil tankers moving through the inlet, from five to more than 20 each month.

Chief Thomas said the case is ultimately about taking a stand.

“We have to take a stand, stand up for what we believe is truly right. What we really believe is right for us is protecting land and waters to the best of our ability. We have to move forward in a way that we really do become aware of what is going on and not take things for granted. You have to be the one to stand up,” she said.

Thomas recounted the decline of local plants and species in the region, saying local people can no longer harvest shellfish from the once-fertile and clean waters.

“When you look at the future you have to make sure you have water, food for your family. Those are necessities. This land, area has been continually declining in providing our people food. Our people once survived from the food of this land. The animals, the plants, they are declining every day. We have to find a way to stop that decline to the best of our ability.”

The Tsleil-Waututh have worked for years to rehabilitate and lessen their impact on the local area. They’ve introduced wind power, salmon rehabilitation projects and have reintroduced elk to the hillside.

“We’re not people that fight,” Thomas said, “but we want to protect and respect these lands.”

Image Credit: @kingcornevj via Twitter

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Jewell James began studying carving in 1972 so he could work with his younger brother, Dale. They worked together for more than 20 years, and with two other artists formed the House of Tears carvers of the Lummi Nation. In 1996, Dale died of pneumonia, leaving behind five promises of totem poles to various people and organizations. The remaining three members of the group took on the task of fulfilling the promises, marking the beginning of a new tradition of carving totem poles and sending them to places is need of hope and healing.

After sending totem poles to promote peace all over the United States, including to locations affected by 9/11, the House of Tears carvers are channeling their gifts toward their own nation’s struggles and those of their fellow Coast Salish nation, Tseil-Waututh.

Lummi territory just south of the Canadian border is under threat of a proposed coal export terminal at Cherry Point, Washington. Known to its original inhabitants as Xwe’chi’eXen, the spot is located 17 miles south of the Canadian border. The proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal would be the largest of its kind on the American west coast, transporting such dry bulk commodities as grain, potash and coal to Asian markets.

The Tsleil-Waututh nation of North Vancouver is embroiled in a battle to keep Enbridge and Kinder Morgan out of its traditional territory. In a recent meeting between the two nations, leaders got to talking about the similarities between them.

Both are fighting destructive resource development on their lands. Both are water nations, and their collective well-being depends upon the health of the Salish sea.

“We both having the saying in our cultures, when the tide went out, the table was set,” said Rueben George, Sundance Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh. “We ate out of the water, played in the water, have done ceremony in the water.”

Talk continued to the most pressing concerns, and an idea arose.

“We started talking about the risk of having over 400 tankers a year carrying very dangerous bitumen oil, and James said, you know what, I’m going to make a totem pole and it’s for Mother Earth.” George said he’s touched by the show of respect and solidarity.

“I’m just honoured to work with him, and not just to work with him, but also being in ceremony with him. To receive this gift from him is just amazing.”

James has carved a totem pole 22 feet tall that has embarked on a 1,200-mile journey from Lummi territory up the west coast, where it will arrive on Tsleil-Waututh territory in North Vancouver on September 29. It includes images of the salmon and the wolf, of the harvest moon, and a Tsleil-Waututh elder inciting her people to stand up and defend the environment. The pole, made of 300-year-old Western redcedar, has already received blessings from Northern Cheyenne elders in Otter Creek, Montana, in Missoula, Spokane, Celilo Village, Portland, Olympia and Tacoma. The pole will be blessed at Xwe’chi’eXen on the 27th before arriving in BC.

Xwe’chi’eXen is a 3,500-year-old village site and a traditional reef net fishing site. Reef net fishing is the traditional method of salmon fishing of Indigenous people along the coast, and it’s still in use today. Using stationary equipment and relying on the tide to bring in the harvest, it is considered the most respectful and environmentally sound way to fish for salmon. It was also the first place in the state to become part of the Washington Heritage Register.

The ancient ground is not the only place that stands to suffer collateral damage from the Cherry Point project. Rail lines run from Wyoming and Montana, into Washington and along the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River has also seen its share of industrial pollution. Late last year, a Washington judged ruled that British Columbia mining company Teck Resources Limited is liable for the cost of cleaning up huge quantities of slag that have accumulated down river after more than 100 years of using the waterway as a dumping ground.

Proponents of the new rail line cite typical points in favour of resource development and its accompanying infrastructure: new jobs and newer, safer technology. But any development through Lummi territory will interfere with the nation’s treaty rights and cause irreparable damage to the land. Last year, Lummi council took a formal stance in opposition to the project with the words, Kwel hoy: We draw the line.

James said he was inspired by the Tsleil-Waututh commitment to protecting the land and water for all nations.

“Because we’re using the totem pole to gather people together in organizations and tribes, we didn’t want to be selfish with the effort, so we dedicate the totem pole to the Tsleil-Waututh nation in honour and respect of the position they have taken.”

The House of Tears carvers, now made up primarily of James’ nieces and nephew, puts most of its time into healing totem poles and follows traditional native philosophies of community.    

“The philosophy there is, if you have a gift, then you’re supposed to constantly give back to your community around you or the Great Spirit could take it away. So we practice that philosophy.”

On the 29th, there will be a private ceremony to bless and raise the totem pole, followed by speakers and traditional dance, music and food from both nations that will be open to the public.

Image Credit: All photos by Paul Anderson

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