Editor: I was horrified to learn this week that Kwantlen Polytechnic University has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kinder Morgan/Trans Mountain Pipeline.
This MOU will net the university some very “dirty” money should the NEB approve the proposed pipeline expansion bringing diluted bitumen from the tar sands to the coast, for shipment to China.
Under the claim of supporting students through their Community Benefits Programme, Kinder Morgan is planning to donate $300,000 over 20 years in the form of student awards and partial operating funds for the university’s Environmental Protection Technical Lab at the Langley campus.
Kwantlen First Nation, after whom the university is named, is an intervenor in the pipeline project and is against Kinder Morgan’s expansion of the pipeline, as are many people throughout the Lower Mainland.
A rally that attracted approximately 400 people that was supported by the Kwantlen First Nation, was held in Fort Langley this past April, demonstrating against this pipeline.
And yet KPU has gone ahead and signed this MOU without thought to the message they are sending, not only to their students, but also to Kwantlen First Nation.
The irony of the funds going towards environmental protection should not be understated, because if there is ever a spill/leak in the Langley area, this $300,000 would not even begin to cover the costs of a clean-up.
Nor would it cover the hospital and medical costs of those affected by the cocktail of dangerous chemicals that would leak into the atmosphere, leading to nausea, headaches and respiratory problems in our community.
Do the administrators of KPU read the papers?
Do they know that this pipeline expansion supports the expansion of global warming?
Do they care?
Kinder Morgan is trying to spend its way to success by making agreements with local governments all along the pipeline corridor.
It is sad that free money trumps responsible decision making.
Tricia Carpenter
Langley
