No pipeline? Truck oil to coast

The Alberta government needs to be more proactive in getting our resource products to market. A headline from the Journal of Nov. 1 states the problem but also provides a clue to a solution; “Producers turn to oil trucks as supply glut increases.” The Alberta government, preferably in partnership with the federal government, should make an immediate and significant investment in the business of trucking oil.

The government could provide capital for the purchase of the tanker trucks as well as subsidize operations for a period. A preference would be given to recruiting and training drivers from northern and rural communities, including First Nations, thereby providing long-term job skills for many that badly need it.

For a cost much less than the NDP had pledged to Calgary’s Olympic bid, Alberta could have a fleet of 3,000 additional oil tanker trucks driving Alberta oil through British Columbia to the coast.

Think of the impact. Three thousand oil tankers every day, driven by trainee drivers, lumbering through communities all over B.C. but coming

together in to an impressive daily convoy as they approach the Lower Mainland.

Until we can think of a better way to get oil to world markets this is the low-cost, low-risk solution for Alberta. Don Gibson, Edmonton