EDMONTON – The Capital Region board is making it known it’s behind Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project.
Two members of the Capital Region board, Spruce Grove mayor, Stuart Houston and Leduc mayor, Greg Krischke, spoke to the Federal Alberta MP Caucus about the importance of getting Alberta energy to B.C.’s shores.
“Currently, we have a real bottleneck with all of our export going to the United States, and so it’s important that we develop pipelines to the west coast, as well as pipelines to eastern Canada. We can be energy self-sufficient in this country if we could work those issues out,” says Houston.
“This was just to continue awareness,” adds Krischke. “Partly, to make sure that our federal counterparts understood that we also consider this to be an imperative, and that we are trying to help to further getting our oil to tide water.”
But Dr. Jim Lightbody, a University of Alberta political science professor, is doubtful the mayors’ show of support will actually make a difference.
“I don’t know what the mayors of the Edmonton region were trying to accomplish in lobbying people who are already persuaded – other than a little PR for the hometown voters looking ahead to the third week in October.”
While Krischke admits they may have been “preaching to the converted,” he thinks it was still important for the caucus to hear from another level of government, and for the federal representatives to know they have local allies to help move the project forward.
According to Lightbody, though, it’s the First Nations groups who have to be heard, as they have the ability to prevent the building of the $6 billion project, since it’s their property the pipeline would cross, if it’s approved.
“So energies would be better directed to either environmental sustainability that is clear and enforceable, involving the First Nations in the construction, design, and protocols for transferring resources across tribal lands.” he says.
The proposed pipeline would run from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, B.C., and is expected to move roughly half a million barrels of Alberta oil to Kitimat, B.C. each day if given the green light.
The B.C. election campaign comes to a close on Monday, and throughout the campaign B.C.’s Premier Christy Clark has not declared support for or against the Northern Gateway. She did, however, issue a dire warning Friday about B.C.’s role in keeping the Canadian economy going.
Clark is trailing the province’s NDP in the polls. Its leader, Adrian Dix, is firmly opposed to the pipeline.
Still, Lightbody thinks the First Nations’ voice matters more than which B.C. party is in power.
A joint federal review panel is assessing the environmental impact of the Northern Gateway Pipeline if it was built. The panel will make a recommendation to the federal government once its assessment is finished.
In April, the panel released a long list of condition that Enbridge would need to meet should the project receive approval, including almost $1 billion in liability coverage in the event of a catastrophic oil spill.
The panel has until the end of the year to submit its report and recommendation to the federal cabinet.
With files from Laurel Clark, and The Canadian Press
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