What You Cando

Cando Contracting – the company at centre of a previous post, No Cando was probably hoping that the only noise that they’d be hearing half a year later would be the sound of hundreds of Imperial Oil’s tanker cars clanging together on a regular basis next to an established nature conservancy, in an otherwise tranquil and pristine rural and residential area in Strathcona County, near Edmonton, Alberta.

However, Cando, along with Imperial Oil, and CN Rail, who made the land available for the project, are instead finding themselves repeatedly in the media spotlight over questions regarding this land use decision, by the conservancy founder, long time local resident, and former Assistant Deputy Minister of Parks for Alberta, John Kristensen.

Says Kristensen in a recent television interview, “The number of breaches of both federal legislation, Imperial Oil policies, CN policies, Railroad Association of Canada Policies – you can’t even count them.” See Kristensen’s recent interview on Global TV Edmonton.  Kristensen’s clip can be found at the 7:49 minute mark of the broadcast.

Kristensen’s story also appeared in a recent edition of The National Post.

This ill-conceived scheme falls well outside of the proximity guidelines established jointly by Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which begs the question as to why this guideline was established in the first place.

Both CN Rail and Cando belong to the RAC, yet have chosen to ignore its recommendations regarding both minimum distances for rail operations to be situated to homes, as well as noise mitigation measures.

And what is Imperial Oil’s position on this facility that has been specially built for it?

On Imperial Oil’s website, this is what the oil giant says about its community focus: “We are one of Canada’s largest corporations and have been a part of the Canadian community for 130 years. With operations that reach from coast to coast, we are proud to be neighbours to millions of Canadians.”

Would this pride extend to the treatment of John Kristensen and the establishment of its oil tanker facility adjacent to a protected habitat for wild bird species? Is Imperial Oil proud of the fact that their tankers now get stored in an area that bypassed an environmental assessment?

If you think this is wrong, then we’d like to share with you WHAT YOU CAN DO.

First, stop buying gas at Esso until Imperial Oil steps up to the plate and addresses the impact of this facility on the environment and on the community.

Visit Kristensen’s Railroaded blog to see his personal account of this issue.

Let your voice be heard. Support John Kristensen by adding your name to his petition Shut Down Rail Yard Built Next to Homes and Wildlife Conservation Areas on change.org.

Let’s stop Imperial Oil, CN Rail, and Cando from railroading John Kristensen, and the environment.

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