Dear editor,
I have a few misgivings about a story regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline published on Dec. 10, 2016. I want to first share my appreciation for the sentiment of fact-sharing behind your coverage of the Trans Mountain pipeline in the story. Having the facts in the public realm is important in starting conversations about projects with implications as far-reaching and controversial as this one, and the intent to publish the facts is a good one.
However, as I made my way through the article, the one-sidedness of the facts presented began to raise a red flag for me. The piece is entitled 鈥淕et in the loop: Everything you need to know聽about the Trans Mountain pipeline in JNP,鈥� but聽I question the聽appropriateness of such a title when the primary source of information presented in the piece appeared to be Kinder Morgan alone. Perhaps the article included everything聽Kinder Morgan聽needs us to know about the Trans Mountain Pipeline, but there is certainly more to the picture. While it鈥檚 important for the public to have the 鈥渇acts,鈥� I think we need to keep in mind both the subjectivity of fact, and the danger in excluding all but one voice from the fact-sharing; especially when the one voice is that of the multinational company which seeks to benefit from the project.
With all of this in mind (and knowing that as journalists you鈥檙e in the business of dealing with controversy!) I am truly looking forward to subsequent coverage that will critically engage with the facts from the vantage points of the numerous groups and individuals who have already been involved in and will be affected by the project. The perspectives and voices of Indigenous peoples whose territory the pipeline runs through, of settlers and residents, of environmental scientists, of Parks departments, of all three levels of government, of elected opposition, of activists, of conservationists, of those who are employed (and both unemployed and underemployed) in the field and of many others is arguably what the public needs in order to be in the loop, and to really have everything we need to know about the Trans Mountain pipeline in JNP.
Thanks for taking the time to consider my perspective. I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing where you can run with it.
Marissa Kidd
