There has been another example of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can suck and blow at the same time. It took three federal cabinet members to burst the environmental bubble in B.C. They travelled from Ottawa unnecessarily to provide word that the government would allow the building of a gas pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia coast where the gas would be converted to Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and loaded on tankers for the trip to China and the far east.
The good news was supposed to be that the amount of carbon allowed to be released would be capped at the equivalent of putting one million more automobiles on the road across Canada. The problem was that how you cap carbon emissions, how you count carbon emissions and who gets the money for the carbon tax were never discussed.
These LNG operations are touted to be the largest sell-off of Canadian resources ever. The operation is going to cost Malaysia-owned Petronas about $36 billion—if it can make it a profitable investment despite the currently low prices of natural gas.
If this huge expense creates just 300 (maybe) permanent jobs, it is not very impressive. (B.C.’s Premier Christie Clark was smiling because it looks like her province gets to tax the pipeline, the LNG plant and shipping terminal.) Alberta is where the natural gas will likely be sourced, compressed and pumped over the Rockies to the new plant.
The good news is that the gas pipeline is much safer for the environment than the pumping of diluted bitumen. The gas tends to harmlessly mix with air unless there is something to ignite it. Even a very small leak near a pumping station could be a very explosive proposition.
The pipeline is supposed to follow the Skeena River to the sea. As it is the second largest salmon run in British Columbia, the native communities in the Skeena area and environmentalists are appalled. They feel that Prime Minister Trudeau continues to break promises and ignore concerns.
This is on top of the Trudeau government’s recent approval of the $8 billion mega-project known as the Site C Dam on B.C.’s Peace River. This mega-project is going to flood 83 kilometres of valley near St. John. This flooding will cover traditional hunting lands and ancient burial grounds of B.C.’s indigenous people. They claim it is just one more example of Prime Minister Trudeau promising one thing and then doing another.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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