After years of controversy and protest, the federal government announced decisions on some major oil pipeline projects. Although the decision had been made days earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau only made the public announcement late yesterday afternoon.
One project, the “Northern Gateway” proposal was one of the hotly contested lines.
It proposed to stretch over 1,000 kilometres from an oilsands terminal in Alberta to the Pacific coast passing over the mountains and through several First Nations territories. The former Conservative government and the National Energy Board had agreed to the project. In the announcement yesterday by the current Liberal government, the proposal has been rejected.
Another pipeline is called Line-3. It runs from another oilsands terminal in Alberta some 1,600 kilometres to Wisconsin to a pipeline terminal there. The 7.5 billion dollars project has been somewhat less controversial as a new pipeline would replace an existing older one but would be larger and almost double capacity.
KinderMorgan’s Trans-Mountain pipeline however, has been extremely controversial. Although it would twin an existing line, opposition has been strong and growing. Proponents argue it would create up to 15,000 jobs, but environmentalists and many First Nations indigenous groups are bitterly opposed.
Elizabeth May of the federal Green Party notes that the product cannot be refined at the Chevron refinery at the Burnaby terminal, but the mixture of raw crude and diluent will be shipped out. She says more jobs could be created and the value-added product used in Canada if money was invested in upgrading the current refinery.
The 6.5 billion dollar twinning would increase oil shipment to the west coast by almost 600,000 barrels per day.
The decision enthusiastically supported by the B.C. Premier, and by the mayors in the major Alberta cities of Calgary and Edmonton, but strongly opposed by Vancouver’s mayor who told media the approved twinning will result in “protests like you’ve never seen”. Still while opposition to pipelines is very strong, there are many who now welcome the potential jobs and investment.
In making the announcement, the Prime Minister said he knew whatever decision the government made it would upset people, but he said, “it was the best decision for Canada and Canadians”.
Other major pipeline decisions involve the XL pipeline project from Canada to the US. Another previous Conservative government approved project, it is supported by the Liberals under Trudeau. The outgoing US President Obama has been against it, but President-elect Donald Trump is likely to approve the American section.
A fourth pipeline proposal, Energy East to bring crude from Alberta across the country to eastern Canada is also highly controversial and no final decision has been made.
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