Anti-pipeline group wants B.C. to send Alberta premier-designate Rachel Notley a message on Kinder Morgan

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      While many left-wingers are celebrating the huge win by the NDP in last night's Alberta election, a B.C. environmental organization clearly believes it's too early to pop the Champagne corks.

      Kai Nagata, energy and democracy director for the Victoria-based Dogwood Initiative, sent out an email blast noting that, while Alberta premier-designate Rachel Notley is no fan of Enbridge's Northern Gateway and TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline projects, she still supports Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain expansion proposal.

      Nagata called on pipeline opponents to sign an online petition in the wake of the election results east of the Rockies. The petition page states:

      Alberta's new premier Rachel Notley said her NDP government won't actively push Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline and oil tanker proposal. This is an earthquake for energy politics in Canada.

      But make no mistake: the government she’s inheriting still depends heavily on oil sands revenues. Notley wants more “market access” for more Alberta bitumen. That’s why she supports Kinder Morgan.

      Luckily, the decision is up to the citizens of British Columbia – and the First Nations along the pipeline and tanker route.

      Send Rachel Notley a message today by adding your name to the call for a fair, independent review so our province can dig into the true environmental risks and economic tradeoffs of Kinder Morgan’s proposal.

      It’s time for B.C. to reclaim the powers it signed away to the National Energy Board. It’s time to assert our jurisdiction over crude oil transport through B.C.

      Nevertheless, Dogwood's petition is not addressed to Notley but to B.C. premier Christy Clark.

      It asks Clark to "set up a fair and independent review of Kinder Morgan’s crude oil pipeline and tanker project".

      Meanwhile, CBC has reported that, a day after winning an NDP majority, Notley said things will be "A-OK" for the oil industry.

      Notley has also expressed support for the Energy East pipeline to Atlantic Canada.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      schultzy

      May 7, 2015 at 10:31am

      LET'S TALK !
      Premier Elect, RACHEL NOTLEY wants market access for Alberta’s bitumen....’ .Our economy could be adversely affected if we make a wrong decision .......Could this turn into a ‘fair and independent review’ ! Something akin to a negotiated agreement..by the parties affected;BC and ALBERTA..! How novel ?
      Thus leaving the bully pipe liners ,and friend Harper ,to wait the negotiated,publically acceptable ‘conditions’ !

      BC might accept ocean routes that minimize the probability of bitumen spills in busy ocean traffic waters and environmentally sensitive shores ... that generate revenues in the billions for local businesses and taxes ..and more critically ,to eliminates added bitumen tankers from Douglas Channel,Burrard Inlet and the Salish Sea..

      This issue ,’conveniently’,has been ‘overlooked’ by our leader—though he promises some kind of ‘world class’ bitumen containment and recovery contraption..no doubt ‘scientifically developed’ and successfully OCEAN tested ......we wait !

      Not having heard of the Harper contraption, Energy East has just agreed to NOT BUILD A SHIPPING TERMINAL IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA on the St. Lawrence....because of threats to a Beluga whale calving area.We too are concerned about our critters and loss of resultant businesses generators and tax revenues.

      Simply..BC must be allowed to have it’s say in this vital export ,revenue generating export proposal. The solution is so simple..build one combined pipeline from Alberta to Port Simpson and avoid adding any bitumen tankers to our busy,environmentally sensitive areas...while providing relatively open ocean access to world markets !
      No doubt Premier ‘Christy’ will welcome a call....let’s talk !
      Carl Shalansky,(P.Eng.,retired)
      http://redfern3359.wordpress.com

      Lewis S

      May 7, 2015 at 6:33pm

      Notley, with support of the Alberta Labor Unions, also wants more of the province's bitumen processed before it leaves the province. Oil companies avoided this step in the project design because Canada signed the initial stage of the Kyoto Agreement. While Chretien was reluctant to enforce the agreement because Montreal was the largest petrol-chemical processing center in Canada the threat did alter the scope of facilities built in Alberta. (These facilities were built following the Maine-Montreal pipeline built in 1942 as part of the WWII effort. This pipeline has carried significant volumes of heavy bitumen laden oil from Venezuela into Canada.)

      Since the Kyoto Protocol was initially presented, CO2 emissions from the countries it covered have been reduced. But the agreement has not saved us from the Armageddon of climate change, since the nations not covered in this accord, namely China, have more than made up the difference. One should note that the reduction in CO2 in Europe has been reduced by the depletion of mine-able coal reserves and transfer of manufacturing to Asia. CO2 emissions in the United States have occurred with reduced electrical power being produced from coal by electrical power produced by natural gas that became available with the ‘fracturing’ of shale formations.

      The Cap and Trade agreements in Europe benefited a number of industries that were already scheduled to be shut down. Even the BC carbon tax can be viewed cynically. Is it a tax designed to reduce CO2 emissions or a tax paid by other Canadians shipping goods to and from Asia through BC.