Trans Mountain pipeline marker in Westsyde. (Image Credit: Mel Rothenburger)

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Crapstorm blowing in City Hall over Westsyde pipeline motion

Jan 11, 2020 | 7:08 AM

HERE’S A STRAIGHT-FORWARD question.

Supposing, five or 10 years from now, the oil pipeline that runs through Westsyde splits a seam or whatever it is pipelines do when they break, and there’s a major leak that damages or destroys homes and might even put lives at risk.

If you were a City councillor at the time, would you rather be able to say:

(a) We asked the Canada Energy Regulator (formerly National Energy Board) to order Trans Mountain to decommission the pipeline but the CER didn’t do it.

(b) We thought about asking the CER to order Trans Mountain to decommission the pipeline but we decided it was none of our business.

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That’s the way Coun. Denis Walsh sees his notice of motion that will be debated at Tuesday’s City council meeting.

The existing pipeline runs through what is now the densely populated suburb of Westsyde. When Trans Mountain was planning the route for its twinning project, it decided to avoid the cost and disruption of digging up the route through Westsyde to install a new pipe, opting for a route through Lac du Bois.

That plan, which still stands, leaves the existing pipe through Westsyde in place and continuing to be used. The new “twin” pipe will go through the Lac du Bois grasslands.

In Walsh’s view, it makes sense to shut down the Westsyde pipeline and add another one on the Lac du Bois route. He believes the environmental risks posed by widening the right of way on Lac du Bois are trumped by the risks to residents, and council should at least speak up. That’s the gist of his notice of motion, which is getting minimum traction among his fellow councillors.

That’s surprising because it seems like a no-brainer. It might not get anywhere with the CER but being diligent about people’s safety can never be a bad thing.

The rift on the Westsyde issue is symptomatic of deeper problems on council. While they haven’t spilled fully out into the open, yet, they will unless Mayor Ken Christian finds a way to get things back on track. This council is so intent on looking like a well-choreographed team that it’s backfiring.

Part of the problem is the whole notice of motion process. Giving a couple of weeks’ notice on policy proposals is supposed to make for easier decision making because, presumably, everybody will have a chance to do their homework and prepare their arguments.

In practice, it also gives time for councillors to choose sides and draw battle lines, which isn’t always productive.

In this case, an innocent attempt to get information and protect the interests of a community has turned into a political cauldron. Walsh says he’s heard of concerns by other councillors that he didn’t give them a head’s up on his notice of motion, that they were caught off guard.

If that’s true, it’s a rather strange objection. A notice of motion itself is the head’s up. Should there be more notice of notices of motion?

There are other reasons for the resistance to the Walsh motion, some of them perfectly reasonable, though arguable. One is that it should have been done years ago, which is probably true, though Walsh has said the powers of the CER have been enhanced since the days of the NEB.

Another is that council has no authority in the matter. That, too, is true, but since when does council not take stands on issues of concern to its citizens? I seem to remember a little project called KGHM Ajax in which council had no authority. But the council of the day took a stand, influencing the decisions of the provincial and federal governments to reject it.

Walsh admitted Friday to being somewhat flummoxed by the actions of staff, which apparently decided on its own, after he submitted his notice, to start investigating the powers of the CER to issue orders on the pipeline based on risk to people or the environment.

No doubt, staff was simply trying to get ahead of the game, and might well have useful information to offer by Tuesday, but it seems as though the guy making the motion should be in the loop.

Let’s face it, Walsh isn’t known as Mr. Popular on council. He’s not good at behind-the-scenes lobbying, he’s not a flatterer, he doesn’t take positions with an eye to the next election. When staffers present council with a report, he doesn’t sit on his hands and accept it as gospel; he grills them for details.

In other words, he does what he was elected to do. At times, the way in which he questions how things are done rubs both staff and other councillors the wrong way.

The upshot is that relations are decidedly chilly at the moment, and when the mayor gets back in town he’ll need to employ some mediation skills. Clearly, the respective roles of staff and council need fine tuning.

As of Friday night when I called him, Walsh was uncertain about whether to proceed with his motion or put it on hold until things settle and more information is gathered. The chances of a vigorous and thorough discussion based on the merits of the motion, after which everyone breaks into a chorus of Kumbaya, don’t currently seem high.

What should properly happen is that Walsh presents his motion and backs it up with the considerable research he’s done. That includes examples in other places where pipelines have broken.

If his position can be refuted, go for it, but saying it’s not council’s business, or that the old pipeline must be safe because Trans Mountain says it is, doesn’t cut it.

Dysfunctional might be too strong a word for where this council is at right now, but they need to get together in a room and pound some pillows.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.