XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: Cons"@cdn.ca   
      
   Posted: Jan 14, 2013 The Canadian Press   
      
      
   Thousands jeer Northern Gateway hearings in Vancouver   
      
   The closed hearings drew protesters by the thousands in Vancouver   
   Monday. (CBC)   
      
      
   Thousands of people gathered during a rare Vancouver snowfall to mark   
   the start of community hearings on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.   
      
   Opponents of the project were bolstered on Monday by the nationwide Idle   
   No More campaign, which brought First Nations from as far as the Haisla   
   Nation on the North Coast, near the would-be tanker port of Kitimat, B.C.   
      
   At Victory Square, protesters gathered before marching to the site of   
   the hearings in the city's downtown and sending a message to the panel   
   now touring B.C.   
      
   The panel will hear public comments about the controversial plan to   
   deliver oil from the Alberta oil sands to a tanker port on the North   
   Coast of B.C.   
      
   "The Harper government has one of the most aggressive, high-carbon   
   strategies in the world," Eddie Gardner, of the Sto:lo Nation, told the   
   crowd.   
      
   He blasted the federal Conservatives for changes they've made to   
   environmental laws that will affect oversight of the Northern Gateway   
   and other future projects.   
      
   "He implemented that legislation, it has become law, and he did it with   
   crass and ruthless disregard for the environment," Gardner told the   
   protesters.   
      
   "Stephen Harper is hell bent to expand the tar sands.   
      
   "Canada is coming alive to Harper's real agenda ... He is one of the   
   biggest enemies of the environment."   
      
   Protesters also took aim at a proposed expansion of the existing   
   TransMountain pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan.   
      
   The pipeline moves oil from the oil sands to port in Vancouver, and a   
   proposed $4.3-billion expansion would more than double the capacity of   
   the 1,100-kilometre line.   
      
   The joint review panel, which is weighing the Northern Gateway project,   
   has scheduled eight days of community hearings in Vancouver in the   
   coming weeks.   
      
   Community hearings were held previously in Victoria, and one day of   
   statements is scheduled in Kelowna later this month.   
      
   The panel limited access to the hearings room so it could listen to   
   statements without distractions, stated a directive posted on the panel   
   website.   
      
   "Given the large urban nature of Victoria and Vancouver and previous   
   protests held in both locations regarding the proposed Enbridge Northern   
   Gateway project, the panel has decided that it will limit access to the   
   hearing room," stated the directive.   
      
   Presenters met in one venue, while members of the public listened to   
   submissions in another.   
      
   The hearings are also being streamed live on the panel website.   
      
   The panel held final hearings earlier in Edmonton, Prince George and   
   Prince Rupert, where company experts and interveners answered questions   
   under oath.   
      
   Those hearings will resume in Prince Rupert next month.   
   _____________________________________________   
      
   â€œStrength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an   
   indomitable will.”  ~   Mahatma Gandhi   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)