By Chad Klassen

Whispering Pines among many regional bands that could lose big tax revenues

Apr 9, 2018 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — Monday marked a regularly scheduled maintenance day on the Trans Mountain pipelines at Whispering Pines. Coincidentally, it came a day after Kinder Morgan suspended further expansion work. 

“Certainly we’re disappointed,” said Whisper Pines chief Mike LeBourdais. “We had expected the federal government to keep supporting the project, as we did with our band council resolution, with our community vote to support the pipeline. Quite frankly, we thought it’s been operating safely for 55 years and we just wanted to continue that.”

LeBourdais said Whispering Pines would double its tax revenue from $300,000 to $600,000 a year if the twinning goes ahead. 

He plans to meet with other regional chiefs later this month to discuss each band’s true stance on the project, although LeBourdais has sensed a consensus throughout the region. 

“Most of the communities support it,” he claimed. “They do have mutual benefit agreements with Kinder Morgan. They have partners with construction companies, with pipeline companies, engineering companies.”

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The consensus stretch right to the mayor’s chair at Kamloops City Hall. Ken Christian said Kamloops will receive $750,000 from Kinder Morgan if construction goes ahead. The city would also benefit from taxation worth about $1 million every year. 

“There’s certainly a financial hit for us,” he said. “A lot of that supports some of the social programs that we’ve been doing. Increased transit, better housing, better recreational opportunity. You have to balance those kinds of things.”

Christian noted aside from the financial benefits, he believes pipelines are ultimately better for the environment. 

“The current way that bitumen is transported to the Lower Mainland uses an awful lot more energy, produces an awful lot more greenhouse gas than pipelines,” noted Christian. “So I think from an environmental perspective, this for Kamloops is a much better option than continued train or truck traffic.”

Whispering Pines unanimously supports the twinning project and LeBourdais believes the expansion would provide great things for their community, including greater educational opportunities and a more comfortable retirement for elders. 

“It would’ve certainly helped us along the way to self-government, or self-determination where we can collect our own taxes on the resource that are being used in our territory,” said LeBourdais. “That’s the big thing for me is, who’s going to replace that lost tax revenue. Is it going to be British Columbia or who?”

Officials with Kinder Morgan will consult with stakeholders to try to reach an agreement by May 31.