VANCOUVER – The National Energy Board (NEB) has failed to answer key questions about Kinder Morgan’s emergency and oil spill response plan, and the B.C. Liberals must respond by withdrawing from its environmental review process immediately.

“Premier Christy Clark sold out B.C. when she gave the decision on Kinder Morgan to Stephen Harper in Ottawa. She needs to take back our right to have a say and withdraw immediately from the National Energy Board process,” said New Democrat environment spokesperson Spencer Chandra Herbert.

“The NEB’s review is deeply flawed. The board’s decision last week to refuse to force Kinder Morgan to answer key questions about emergency management and oil spill response is outrageous. The B.C. government has been shut out, as have the cities of Vancouver and Abbotsford, the Pacheedaht and Tsawwassen First Nations, and many others who also want and deserve answers on these critical issues. ‘Just trust us’ isn’t good enough when you are dealing with the health and safety of our coast and communities,” said Chandra Herbert.

Last week, the NEB rejected the province’s formal request that Kinder Morgan answer all of its questions related to spill response plans for the Trans Mountain Expansion project. The NEB refused to compel the company to answer, leaving uncertainty around many of these questions.

Chandra Herbert says this decision by the NEB leaves B.C. without any recourse to get its questions answered, proving once again that the process is not protecting B.C.’s interests.

“The NEB has left the premier with no other choice: she must stand up for B.C. and withdraw from this process. If she wants to show any leadership on this issue she needs to strengthen our made-in-B.C. environmental assessment process and use it instead.”