REALITY CHECK: B.C. Liberals Rewriting History Of Support For Creosote Cogen Plant

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Instead of trying to rewrite history B.C. Liberal MLAs Terry Lake and Kevin Krueger need to take responsibility for not ensuring a full environmental assessment was done before permits were issued to build a plant that would burn toxic creosote-soaked railway ties near downtown Kamloops, say New Democrats.

The B.C. Liberal government could have ordered a full environmental assessment of the project before issuing permits to the company, but instead of advocating on behalf of their constituents, both MLAs were quick to dismiss the concerns of the community and support the toxic project:

B.C. Liberal MLA Terry Lake criticized the people of Kamloops for being ‘emotional’ about the plant, and expressed his support for the proposal, saying, “being a politician is tricky, for sure, because you want to please everyone. I’ve learned that you can’t please everyone. You have to live up to your own principles. If people don’t like that or don’t respect me for that, then I’ll go back to neutering cats and dogs.”

(CHNL, The Jim Harrison Show, Jan. 14, 2010)

B.C. Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger expressed his support for the plant by saying “I know that various people are saying very emotional things about it, but we trust scientists and engineers when we get on airplanes. When we permit sewage and water treatment facilities. When we write permits for industry. And I’m satisfied that people have done their jobs, and that our health and safety is not going to be compromised by this facility.”

(CHNL, Jan. 15th, 2010)

Meanwhile, B.C. New Democrat leader Carole James was taking the issue seriously:

“To just say ‘trust me,’— from this government I have to say is a bit rich. It's not something the public is feeling positive about. Why wouldn’t you do a proper environmental assessment? Why is the government afraid of taking a proper environmental review to look at the issue of creosote? To look at the dangers that may be there— to look at the closeness to a city.”

(CHNL, Jan. 18th, 2010)

Mr. Lake and Mr. Krueger’s decision to ignore the concerns of Kamloops residents until opposition to the project reached a fever pitch has increased the likelihood of a costly legal battle for the province, and their continuing reluctance to call for a full environmental assessment- which is what residents want- shows that their sudden conversion on this issue is shallow one.