Alberta politicians take aim at Montreal over pipeline rejection
原始发布日期： 2016-01-21 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
From the left, ALberta Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and Alberta Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous Calgary Herald On Thursday, the Montreal Metropolitan Community, representing 82 municipalities in the Montreal region, announced it formally opposes the proposed $15.7-billion Energy East pipeline, which would move Alberta crude to the east coast for export. Coderre, who is also MMC president, said the municipalities decided after a series of public consultations that the environmental risks outweigh the meagre economic benefits of the pipeline project by Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. But in a statement, NDP Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous said that Coderre’s statement is “both ungenerous and short-sighted. Everyone loses if we destroy our resource economy.” Speaking to reporters at an event in Edmonton, Bilous said there should be recognition of Alberta’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the centrepiece of which is a plan to introduce a carbon tax in 2017 that would raise $3 billion annually. “The fact of the matter is, a pipeline like Energy East will benefit all Canadians, all jurisdictions across the country. For the mayor to come out and talk about his opposition to Energy East, I think it is extremely short-sighted,” he said. On Twitter, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean was even harsher. “You can’t dump raw sewage, accept foreign tankers, benefit from equalization and then reject our pipelines,” Jean tweeted. Coderre’s city government sparked controversy last fall over a decision to dump eight-billion litres of wastewater into the St. Lawrence River to make repairs to Montreal’s sewer system. While the provincial economy and government finances have been hammered by plunging oil prices, Alberta remains a “have province” that does not receive funding under the federal equalization program. Quebec receives billions of dollars annually under the program. In a statement, Jean said Coderre’s position is “nothing short of hypocritical,” while also taking aim at Premier Rachel Notley. “It’s clear the NDP government’s plan for a new carbon tax to get the ‘social license’ for pipelines is failing,” he said. The Alberta government has been pushing for increased market access for its energy products through new pipelines, with the NDP backing Energy East and the expansion of Trans Mountain line to Vancouver. Energy East would take Alberta crude as far east as an Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B., and would be capable of carrying up to 1.1 million barrels a day from the West to the East. It’s expected the move would ultimately help unlock higher prices — and more government royalties — for Alberta oil. However, opposition to both projects continues to increase. The British Columbia government recently came out against Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion, which would move Alberta oil to the Vancouver area for export. Notley will continue her lobbying efforts around pipelines this week, however. The premier is heading to Toronto on Thursday, where she will speak at a Pembina Institute event on climate change. Notley’s spokeswoman, Cheryl Oates, said the premier will also talk about the need for energy infrastructure. Notley will also meet with Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne on Friday, and Energy East will be on the agenda, said Oates. Despite the criticism, Alberta’s commitment to fight climate change enhances its position on pipelines and makes “easier” conversations such as the one with Wynne, Oates said. With files from The Canadian Press jwood@calgaryherald.com (Calgary Herald) |