Enbridge Line 9 station near Hamilton shutdown by protesters
Hamilton 350 group plans to stay until Line 9 expansion project is cancelled
CBC News, June 20, 2013
Protesters shutdown Enbridge Line 9 pumping station near Hamilton, Ont., on June 20, 2013.
A group of protesters has shut down construction at an Enbridge pump station in rural Hamilton, Ont., Thursday.
About 80 people interrupted construction at the North Westover site in rural Hamilton but allowed workers to close and lock the facility before leaving. They are also allowing workers in to do safety checks.
“We’re here because we’ve noticed they’ve ramped up their construction,” said protester Elysia Petrone. “They are making improvements to the north pumping station, preparing to increase capacity.”
Petrone added: “This is a complete disregard for the national energy process. This NEB (National Energy Board) process is a rubber stamp procedure.”
One hundred and seventy-seven citizens, organizations and municipalities have applied to take part in hearings about Enbridge’s plan to reverse the oil flow of Line 9B, which runs from Montreal to Westover near Hamilton. The cities of Hamilton, Burlington, Kingston, Toronto, Mississauga have applied for intervener status, along with musician Sarah Harmer.
‘This is my food source’
Petrone says she’s concerned about the environmental impact of the Enbridge project.
“This is my drinking water,” she said. “I get my vegetables from Plan B (organic farm) about a kilometre from here. This is my food source. To not have a careful environmental assessment, any assessment at all, is shameful.”
Protesters have started putting up tents and say they plan to stay for several days. Hamilton police officers arrived at the pumping station at about 9:20 Thursday morning. Officers have told the CBC they hope the protesters will leave peacefully.
Ken Hall, a senior advisor for community relations for Enbridge said “We are willing to speak with these individuals about their concerns. I’m sure we can try to resolve this in due course”
Opponents say the flow reversal could raise the risk of a spill into places like the Beverly Swamp in the headwaters of Spencer Creek, Hamilton’s largest watershed.
Earlier this month, representatives from local environmental group known as Hamilton 350 protested outside police headquarters, denouncing $44,410 in grants from the oil giant. Back in May, about 40 protesters staged a mock oil spill and cleanup on Highway 6 near Concession Road 6 to express their concerns about the pipeline.
Hamilton 350 said, in a press release, that protesters at the Westover terminal “look to be in it for the long haul” and have asked supporters to attend a rally on Friday at 11am across the street from the protest.
Calgary-based Enbridge describes itself as operator of the world’s longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. It is proposing to build and run the $6.5 billion Northern Gateway pipeline, carrying oil sands bitumen to British Columbia for shipment overseas.
http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/06/19/hamilton-enbridge-line-9-protest.html
Ontario anti-Enbridge occupation just the start of widespread actions, says Tuscarora woman
APTN National News, June 20, 2013
The occupation of an Enbridge pumping station in southern Ontario is just the beginning of widespread actions against the company and the Alberta tar sands, according to a spokesperson for the protest.
The protest, spearheaded by a group of grassroots people from the Six Nations Iroquois community near Hamilton, Ont., began at about 6 a.m. Thursday and was expected to last throughout the day. The about 60 protestors, which include activists from outside Six Nations, oppose Enbridge’s plans to reverse the flow of the company’s Line 9 oil pipeline which would bring Alberta tar sands oil east.
“This is a huge risk, from my point of view, to our lands, our waters and our future generations. It’s my responsibility to stand for our lands,” said Melissa Elliott, 22, who is Tuscarora from Six Nations, which has the largest population of any reserve in the country. “We don’t want an oil spill to happen in our territory.”
Elliott said Thursday’s protest is the opening salvo in cross-country actions against the tar sands in Alberta and Enbridge’s plans to move oil from west to east. She said Six Nation’s sister communities of Tyendinaga and Akwesasne would also be involved in future planned actions.
“We are standing here in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in ground zero of the tar sands and out West in British Columbia where they are also stopping pipelines,” said Elliott. “There are actions that are going to happen all along Line 9.”
A spokesman for Enbridge said the protestors have let workers into the site, but it required extensive negotiations which had halted construction at the terminal. Graham White said the company hoped to reach a settlement with the protestors that would allow them to continue voicing their message without impeding the construction work in the terminal.
White wouldn’t say whether the company had begun efforts to seek an injunction to force the protestors off the site.
“We are going to have to perhaps employ some measures if it is not resolved in a reasonable amount of time,” he said.
A Hamilton police spokesperson said officers were monitoring the protest which had so far unfolded without incident.
“As it stands, it is peaceful and there is nothing to suggest otherwise,” said Const. Debbie McGreal-Dinning. “There is no one identifying as a group under a particular name, it is just individuals that have come together.”
The protest has managed to stop construction at Enbridge’s North Westover terminal which stems from the recent National Energy Board ruling approving phase one of the company’s plan pipeline reversal. The NEB allowed for the reversal of oil along Line 9A which runs from Sarnia, Ont., to North Westover.
The second phase of the project, or Line 9B would reverse oil between North Westover and Montreal.
The North Westover terminal also handles Lines 10 and 11 through which foreign light crude from places like the Middle East, South America and North Africa flows from the Port of Montreal to points west, including the Imperial Oil refinery in Nanticoke, Ont., Sarnia and other destinations in the U.S.
Elliott said the protest would last as long as it could.
“This is just starting, it is going to keep going and we’ll keep fighting,” said Elliott. “We are fighting the tar sands.”
Posted on June 21, 2013, in Oil & Gas and tagged Enbridge, Enbridge line 9, Enbridge Line 9 Hamilton, Line 9 reversal, Tar Sands, tar sands oil, tar sands oil pipelines. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
Warrior Publications 
Foolish uneducated protesters paid by large coporations to promote unnecessary conflict with our energy providers that keep Canadians employed
Wendy Jerome
Jobs at any cost, even if it means destroying the environment and the health of people? The protesters are probably more educated about the threat of tar sands pipelines than people such as yourself, Wendy.
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