LandKeepers News Archive
NEB Coloured with Bias
December 16 2009 | Media Releases | Interior News
Open letter to the head of the National Energy Board(NEB)
Dear Mr. Caron:
I read on the NEB website: “The National Energy Board is committed to ensuring that stakeholders are effectively engaged in the Board’s public processes”. I do not find this is the case in Smithers where the NEB has made two presentations, non-advertised and not opened to the general public.
The first one was upon invitation by the Smithers Town Council, along with other groups involved with this project. It was part of a special process from the Town of Smithers which did not require advertising. Word-of-mouth brought in 100 people, squeezed like sardines, because the room was not big enough to accommodate such numbers. Also it was only by courtesy from council that 20 minutes were allowed for questions before they carried on with their business.
Margaret McQuinston representing the NEB did a very poor job. She was hard to hear and the slides with orange letters on khaki background were hard to read. Every question she answered started with a sigh and she never really answered any of them. Nobody was impressed.
I now hear that NEB (I assume Ms. McQuinston) is coming back to Smithers, as usual secretly, not advertised, to make a presentation to the Enbridge Community Advisory Board (CAB). I learned that the CAB is made of people selected by Enbridge, with Enbridge criteria and agenda and they are paid $200 a day plus expenses. Likely those people will have a chance to ask as many questions as they want. The general public has not been informed of the NEB presence, and has not been invited.
I want to complain about this behaviour to come and leave, avoid the public by not extending the opportunities to a larger audience, while already in Smithers. The NEB is already showing a bias towards Enbridge, by accepting to participate in their questionable CAB.
Worse, Roland Priddle, who is mainly presented by Enbridge as a previous NEB chairperson, is going to make a presentation to the CAB. He has the intelligence to also offer to do the same to the general public the same day. It still colours NEB with bias towards the pipeline company.
Why is the NEB showing such disregard for the public?
Can you elaborate about Mr. Priddle who uses his previous position with NEB to likely get big compensation as a consultant with Enbridge?
Thank you for your reply.
Josette Wier
Smithers, B.C.
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