Barbara Gard calls her three-hectare property, nestled below the forested peak of Sumas Mountain, a 鈥渕iniature Stanley Park.鈥� Its lush trees and flowing creek reminded her of Vancouver鈥檚 majestic park, and she immediately knew she wanted to call it home.
But she said her peaceful retreat in Abbotsford now feels more like a nightmare. Gard is among thousands of landowners along the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion route who have not yet granted the Crown corporation access, and she said her dealings with the project鈥檚 owners over the years have shattered her mental health.
鈥淚t鈥檚 caused me emotional devastation,鈥� said Gard, a 64-year-old school psychologist on medical leave from work. 鈥淭hey are killing me through stress and legal fees.鈥�
Numerous hurdles remain before significant construction can begin on the massive project. Trans Mountain Corp. has not signed agreements with 33 per cent of landowners, no part of the detailed route has been approved, about half of the necessary permits are outstanding and it must meet dozens of conditions with the Canada Energy Regulator, formerly the National Energy Board.
Further, it faces resistance in southwest B.C., where landowners are digging in their heels, Indigenous groups are filing legal challenges and protesters are planning to ramp up activity.
The federal Liberal government bought the pipeline for $4.5 billion last year. The parliamentary budget officer has said that if the expansion is not complete by the end of 2021, it would be fair to conclude the government overpaid for the asset.
The government said the expanded pipeline will now be operational by mid-2022.
鈥淚f all goes according to the government鈥檚 plan and hopes, then that is a realistic timeline,鈥� said David Wright, an assistant law professor with the University of Calgary. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 the significant caveat that not a lot has gone as hoped or planned from the government鈥檚 perspective in the last couple years.鈥�
There are more than 2,500 tracts of private, Crown or Indigenous land to which Trans Mountain must gain access to build the expansion. As of July, some 1,730 鈥� or 67 per cent 鈥� of owners had signed agreements granting the corporation entry.
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Eighty-three per cent of landowners in Alberta and eastern B.C. have signed, but in the B.C. Interior and Fraser Valley, that number drops to 54 per cent. In the Lower Mainland, just 14 per cent of landowners have signed agreements.
The current Trans Mountain pipeline already runs through Gard鈥檚 property. Her frustration with the pipeline鈥檚 owners began in 2011, when she alleges workers sheared some 232 trees on her land, 80 of which they cut down entirely. The corporation denied any wrongdoing and the debate over the damage has dragged on for eight years, she said.
Gard said the corporation has not offered her fair compensation for the risk that the expansion poses to her property鈥檚 delicate ecosystem or has it explained how it will restore vegetation and protect wildlife. The process feels extremely unbalanced, where she鈥檚 facing off against the corporation鈥檚 trained negotiators and legal team, she added.
Robin Scory, another landowner in the Fraser Valley who has not yet signed an agreement, said that the pipeline鈥檚 owners have offered him 鈥渓owball鈥� sums that are only a fraction of the property鈥檚 value. Streams on his land run directly into the Fraser River and the corporation has not explained how it would mitigate the impacts of a spill, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a disaster waiting to happen. I鈥檓 not against the pipeline and I鈥檓 not a 鈥榩ay me millions of dollars鈥� kind of guy, but it鈥檚 just so badly run,鈥� Scory said.
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Trans Mountain said its key objective is to treat each landowner along the route fairly and it bases its compensation on a formula related to market value, but the landowner retains ownership. The corporation also strives to be a leader in emergency preparedness and has plans for quick response in the event of any spill, it said.
In cases where Trans Mountain can鈥檛 settle with a landowner, the Canadian Energy Regulator provides a process to address differences of opinion, it said, and the regulator may ultimately grant right of entry to allow the corporation to build the pipeline.
Before a court decision last August halted the project, a process was underway to confirm the detailed route of the expansion. After the project in June, the regulator said the corporation must redo that process.
It means none of the detailed route has been approved. Trans Mountain has begun notifying local communities of its proposed route and is waiting for statements of opposition from affected people over 30-day periods. The energy regulator then reviews the statements and decides 鈥� segment by segment 鈥� whether detailed route hearings will be held and when.
The lack of route approval is already having an impact. Trans Mountain noted in an Aug. 19 letter to the regulator that it must begin construction of the Burnaby Mountain tunnel portal immediately and earth works must occur prior to the start of the peak rainy season in November. The regulator responded that it could not start work because the route is not approved.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to see the (detailed route approval) happening before the rainy season that they鈥檝e cited,鈥� said Wright.
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Laura Kane, The Canadian Press
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