Notley Ontario-bound, aiming to rescue Energy East
Please stay in your lair, NDP filth! /O'Leary
Notley Ontario-bound, aiming to rescue Energy East
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is set to meet on Friday with her Ontario counterpart, Kathleen Wynne, as the Western province seeks to build support for the proposed Energy East pipeline after it drew heat from Montreal-area mayors on Thursday.
With her province reeling from the impact of depressed oil prices, Ms. Notley is pressing Ottawa to approve crude pipelines to the east and west coasts that would provide Alberta’s industry with access to more lucrative export markets and support investment over the longer term.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and several regional mayors announced Thursday that they oppose TransCanada Corp.’s proposed $15.7-billion project, saying it poses environmental risks with few benefits to Quebec. The proposed pipeline would move 1.1 million barrels of crude oil a day from Western Canada to Irving Oil Ltd.’s refinery and export terminal in Saint John. It would pass through heavily populated areas in the Montreal region.
“They didn’t do their homework, obviously,” Mr. Coderre said. “They were a bit arrogant, frankly. Let’s call a spade a spade: It’s a bad project.”
He said that the economic benefits are slim – with negligible job creation – whereas the possible environmental fallout, including costly oil spills, water contamination and human health concerns, is high.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Coderre’s criticism drew rebukes from three provinces with big stakes in the project: Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
Alberta Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous described Mr. Coderre’s statements as “both ungenerous and shortsighted.”
“Everyone loses if we destroy our resource economy,” he said in a statement.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said the mayors were being “parochial,” adding that Quebeckers will “benefit to the tune of $10-billion in equalization payments this year.”
Notley Ontario-bound, aiming to rescue Energy East - The Globe and Mail