XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, van.general   
   From: Raisa@nyet.ca   
      
   Looks like it.  The National Energy Board is supposed to be an 'independent' of   
   the Federal government body.  All you have to do is look at the biographies of   
   its directors to know it's nothing more than an extension of various oil and   
   gas resource companies.  And the NEB's history confirms its primary focus: to   
   get pipelines through wherever companies want them through.   
      
   What's interesting in this particular push on behalf of Kinder Morgan/Trans   
   Mountain, is that the NEB has RULED - for the very first time in its history -   
   that the Company's bylaws   
   "are inapplicable to the company as it exercised its powers 'UNDER the NEB   
   Act'."  The Company does not have powers under the NEB Act.  The NEB has powers   
   to make sure that the Company - Kinder Morgan - is doing things correctly and   
   within the laws.  Now the NEB has decided that it, the NEB, has the right to   
   rule on Constitutional issues!   
   _________________________________   
   News from today:   
      
      
   The City of Burnaby, B.C., is refusing to back down from its fight with Kinder   
   Morgan, saying it plans to appeal a National Energy Board decision granting the   
   energy giant access to a municipal conservation area.   
      
   The city has tried in recent months to block the company from conducting survey   
   work in the area on Burnaby Mountain — Kinder Morgan's preferred route for   
   the   
   expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.   
      
   But the energy board ruled last week that Burnaby can't stop the company's   
   activities because the geotechnical work is needed by the board so it can make   
   recommendations to the federal government about whether the project should   
   proceed.   
      
   Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan says he wasn't surprised by the NEB ruling, but he   
   questions the energy regulator's legal authority to consider constitutional   
   questions relating to municipal bylaws.   
      
   Such a power has never been previously found to exist in any prior board   
   decision or by any court, he said.   
      
   "We are disappointed but not surprised by this ruling," he said in a written   
   release on Tuesday.   
      
   "We believe that it is inappropriate for the National Energy Board to rule on   
   the critical constitutional issue of whether a multinational pipeline company   
   can override municipal bylaws and cause damage to a conservation area, for a   
   project that no level of government has deemed to be in the public interest."   
      
      
   Unprecedented move   
      
   Lawyer Greg McDade, who is representing the City of Burnaby, said he believes   
   no federally appointed panel should have the power to rule on municipal laws or   
   enforcement powers.   
      
   "It doesn't exist in the NEB Act, and it has never been claimed before by any   
   federal tribunal," he said.   
      
   The board disagrees on the extent of its powers, saying in a statement last   
   week that it found it does have the legal jurisdiction to override municipal   
   bylaws.   
      
   Trans Mountain Burnaby Moutain tree removal - Sept. 10, 2014   
      
   Stumps and branches of trees that were cut down by workers hired by Kinder   
   Morgan are seen in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area, in Burnaby, B.C., on   
   Wednesday September 10, 2014. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)   
      
   The order forbids the City of Burnaby from undertaking any bylaw enforcement.   
   It also says Kinder Morgan must give the city written notice of work 48 hours   
   in advance and must remediate any damage.   
      
   It is the first time the National Energy Board has ever issued an order to a   
   municipality.   
      
   Burnaby and Kinder Morgan have been locked in battle over the $5.4-billion   
   pipeline expansion, with both sides filing duelling legal actions in court and   
   applications with the National Energy Board.   
      
   The expansion would almost triple the capacity of the existing pipeline between   
   Alberta and the B.C. coast to about 900,000 barrels of crude a day.   
     ___________________________________________________________   
      
   Read their own release on 25 September 2014:   
      
      
   NEB requires notice of constitutional question to be provided before   
   considering Order   
      
   CALGARY - The National Energy Board (NEB or the Board) requires notice of a   
   constitutional question to be provided by Trans Mountain Pipeline ULC (Trans   
   Mountain) before the NEB can consider their request for an order for access to   
   Burnaby Mountain. The company requested access to the area in order to conduct   
   studies and surveys in support of its application to expand the Trans Mountain   
   Pipeline.   
      
   In the ruling [Filing A63041], issued today, the Board said that the motion   
   filed by Trans Mountain raises a constitutional question as to whether City of   
   Burnaby bylaws are inapplicable to the company as it exercises its powers under   
   the National Energy Board Act and whether the city should be prevented from   
   enforcing those bylaws.   
      
   Neither Trans Mountain nor the City of Burnaby have provided formal notice to   
   the attorneys general of Canada and the provinces as is required when raising a   
   constitutional   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   question. Therefore the Board cannot consider this motion unless such notice is   
   provided.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   The Board said that since Trans Mountain is requesting an order directed   
   against the City of Burnaby, Trans Mountain should be the one to provide   
   notice.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   Should Trans Mountain choose to raise a constitutional question, the Board has   
   indicated its willingness to decide the issue through an expedited process.   
      
      
   [The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts   
   of Canada's energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the   
   environment as its top priority. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy   
   development and trade in the Canadian public interest.]   
   													 <=== see anything about the authority to rule on bylaws of   
   various municipalities?   Me neither.   
   ________________________   
      
   Then, on October 23rd, they came out with THIS directive:   
      
   For immediate release 23 October 2014   
      
   National Energy Board Rules on Trans Mountain Motion   
      
   CALGARY - The National Energy Board (the Board) issued an order today granting   
   Trans Mountain access to Burnaby Mountain to complete technical studies related   
   to the company’s proposed pipeline.   
      
   The order prevents the City of Burnaby from blocking Trans Mountain from   
   carrying out the required surveys and technical studies.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   The Board also ruled that it has the legal authority to consider constitutional   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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