An environmental group in Hamilton Ontario says it has filed a complaint against police for accepting donations from Enbridge, the biggest oil and gas pipeline company in Canada.
“Hamilton 350” says local police accepted two gifts totaling over $44,000 which were used to create an ATV unit, and to purchase mapping and GPS equipment.
In a letter to the police administration, the group says it doesn’t dispute the advisability of police having the equipment, but that accepting the money raises “ a fundamental question of principle”.
The letter says the donations create a public perception of favouritism on the part of the Hamilton Police Services on behalf of a private corporation.
The group argues that if there were a standoff between Enbridge and protesters, it would be difficult for police to remain neutral because of the donations.
Many groups are against Enbridge’s plans to reverse flow of the 9B pipeline which now runs from Montreal through rural Hamilton toward Sarnia Ontario, near the border with the US. The reversed line would carry oil from Alberta east to the Suncor plant, the only refinery remaining in Montreal. The proposal is to have Canadian oil replace foreign oil now imported from overseas in order to service the eastern Canadian market.
Other critics, notably Equiterre, have suggested this proposal is just a ploy to send Alberta oil east to Montreal, and then simply export it south through other existing lines to Portland Maine to US and overseas markets.
Environmentalists are concerned because Enbridge wants to increase capacity in line 9B from 240,000 barrels a day, to 300,000 barrels of much thicker Alberta oil. This means the temperature and pressure in the line would be higher in a line original designed to carry light crude.
Enbridge has had several spills in the past few years, and the Hamilton group fears this could raise the risk of a spill into places like the Beverly Swamp in the headwaters of Spencer Creek, Hamilton’s largest watershed. In addition to several spills from broken pipes, Enbridge was found to be breaking National Energy Board safety rules at 117 of its 125 pump stations across the country. After being ordered to disclose whether it had back-up power to operate emergency shut-down systems, it was shown only 8 pump stations were in compliance. In addition, 83 stations were missing emergency shut-down buttons.
For its part, the senior adviser of public affairs for Enbridge, Ken Hall, says Enbridge is in no way trying to manipulate any municipalities.
He say the money comes from Enbridge’s “Safe Community Program,” which started in 2005 in the U.S. and came to Canada in 2009. The program has given financial aid to hundreds of fire departments, police services and EMS units in North America where Enbridge has pipeline operations, Hall says.
A protest surrounding the donation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Hamilton Police Central Station. Police spokesperson Catherine Martin would not comment on the complaint until it had been formally submitted
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