SFUFA Statement on the Proposed Kinder-Morgan Pipeline, Summer 2015

Simon Fraser University’s Faculty Association has taken a position against Kinder Morgan’s proposed TransMountain pipeline through Burnaby.

Following initial discussions in 2014, a motion opposing the pipeline was overwhelmingly endorsed at the summer 2015 general meeting of the association, which represents over 1,000 SFU professors, lab instructors and librarians.

The motion states that the pipeline “carries few benefits and many environmental and public health risks” for Burnaby, and also “is integral to the Alberta tar sands project that would add further to global climate change.”

“We feel that the motion is very timely, since the National Energy Board is about to hold hearings in Burnaby on the Kinder Morgan pipeline,” said SFUFA president Neil Abramson. “And yet the general public is largely excluded from the NEB process.  Our motion lends support to the City of Burnaby and various residents’, First Nations and community groups that are concerned about this project.”
The Faculty Association is particularly concerned about the possibility of the pipeline being constructed on and through Burnaby mountain, where the university is situated. But beyond such direct impacts, many SFU faculty members are deeply engaged, through their teaching and research, in the broader issues raised by the proposed project — including energy policy, democratic political processes, sustainable economic development, seismic stability, public health, and climate change.