Atlantic Canada needs a Notley
Liberal MPs in this region towed the party line when the Energy East project was scrapped
Like a lot of new university graduates in Nova Scotia in the mid-1970s my first job as a young professional engineer was in the oil/gas fields of Alberta.
As a Maritimer, and like many more Maritimers after me, I had the opportunity to live in both Edmonton and Calgary and work oil/gas rigs exploring the Prairie provinces for its riches. It gave me a great understanding of prairie life, its economy and the culture of its people.
So, like most Atlantic Canadians, I have been following with great interest the ongoing rhetoric between our federal government, Alberta and British Columbia on the expansion of the Kinder Morgan TransMountain pipeline extending from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.
Our prime minister stands firm. The pipeline “will” be built because it is in the national interest of Canada and B.C. Premier John Horgan stands firm (supported by his Green Party coalition) on his objections.
The debate is heated at times with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley threatening to cut off liquid flows between Alberta and B.C., including wine and oil/gas supplies, with the federal government looking on as a reluctant referee.
Recent polls in B.C. show 55 per cent approval rating for the pipeline expansion.
Notley has gained newfound respect both within Alberta and across the country on how fierce a fighter she has been to get a major provincial resource to tidewater to benefit the economy of her province and Canada in general. Her motivation is further stimulated by an upcoming provincial election in 2019.
Many Maritime jobs depend on her success.
With that as a backdrop let’s flash back to the days of promises of an Energy East pipeline. It’s a project that would have brought Alberta crude to tidewater on the Atlantic coast, specifically the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, N.B., and other refineries all along the U.S. eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico.
The project would have seen a $15.7 billion capital investment creating 14,000 jobs throughout Atlantic Canada.
It was a once-in-a-generation project. A chance to change the economic fortunes of the Maritimes.
On Canada’s Atlantic coast we have been moving oil products by ships for several decades under the watchful eye of our coast guard and provincial departments of environments. Most Atlantic Canadians were supportive of the Energy East pipeline project being built.
At one time, refineries operated in Canso (Gulf Oil) and Dartmouth (Esso and Texaco), and bunker oil was regularly delivered to Nova Scotia Power’s Tufts Cove generating station in Dartmouth.
Tankers still continue to arrive in Canso and most every two weeks during the winter we see an oil tanker tie up at the Sydney cruise terminal to offload its oil cargo to the Esso tank farm in Sydney’s north end.
No one raises an eyebrow. Newfoundland has had a vibrant offshore oil sector for decades with continuous oil vessel traffic along its coast, including a Come-by-Chance, N.L., refinery.
I bring this up only to emphasize the frequency of oil tanker traffic on Canada’s Atlantic coast and the comfort zone of Atlantic Canadian’s with oil tanker transport in our provincial waters.
Back in the October 2015 federal election, Atlantic Canada turned over all 32 MP seats to the Liberals. As well, all four Atlantic Canadian provinces were led by provincial Liberal premiers.
Finally, Atlantic Canada was on the right side of government and we could expect good
things to happen in the years ahead for our region.
However, when TransCanada Pipeline cancelled the Energy East project in October 2017, barely a whimper was made by any of our Liberal MPs or provincial premiers.
The only comment was that they were disappointed and chalked the decision up to low oil prices of $55/bbl (per barrel). At the time, no one seemed to believe oil prices would go up again in the future. They now rest at $67/bbl and climbing as witnessed by the current price at the pump.
Nowhere to be found in Atlantic Canada was a premier or an MP with the drive, conviction and voice of a Rachel Notley to root for the project. All towed the federal line.
Quebec had loudly voiced its opposition to the Energy East pipeline project. Then outspoken Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre claimed victory when the project was cancelled.
The National Energy Board raised the environmental bar for the project to include the impact of “indirect greenhouse gases” and that was the last straw that collapsed the project for TransCanada.
There were no offers by our prime minister to help finance the Energy East project as he has instructed his finance minister to now do in Western Canada.
There were no efforts to strengthen federal legislation to prevent Quebec or Ontario from blocking the Energy East pipeline as is now being discussed for Kinder Morgan in B.C.
There were no loud voices like Notley to explain how the project would benefit a depressed
economic region of the country and bring needed jobs to the area.
There were no declarations of “the pipeline will be built” by the prime minister.
Just silence on the part of all Liberal governments mainly because there are more votes in Ontario and Quebec and being re-elected is more important that the welfare of Atlantic Canada and its citizens.
It is easy math. Ontario and Quebec have 199 seats and Atlantic Canada has 32.
So, Atlantic Canadians will have to continue to import their oil from Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, sending hard earned Canadian dollars offshore that could have been kept here in Canada for the benefit of our region.
To add insult to injury no foreign oil producers are required to adhere to “indirect greenhouse gas limits” to gain permits to export oil to Canada’s east coast ports and its refineries.
The prime minister states the Kinder Morgan pipeline will bring Alberta’s resources to the global marketplace is in the national interest. I guess that policy only applies to Canada’s west coast.
Every political party campaigns for our votes in Atlantic Canada yet our struggling economies are often ignored, taken for granted and overlooked in the confederation. Energy East was a missed opportunity to change all that.
Where is our Rachel Notley when we need her?