Influx of Alberta oil through Montreal raises concerns
Environmentalists critical of pipeline reversal; business lobby applauds move
Montreal will soon see a dramatic influx of Alberta oil into its east-end refineries.
Enbridge got the go-ahead Thursday to ship upward of 300,000 barrels of oil each day from southern Ontario into Montreal through a pipeline that cuts across cities, farmland and the island’s main water supply.
The decision by the National Energy Board to approve Enbridge’s Line 9B reversal project is a prospect that frightens environmental groups, but one that’s seen as an economic necessity from the city’s business lobby.
The pipeline, which links Montreal to Sarnia, Ont., was initially designed to encourage domestic oil production during the OPEC crisis of the 1970s and carries a maximum of 240,000 barrels of crude each day from Montreal to southern Ontario.
The new project would see Alberta oil shipped through the 39-year-old structure, but will only move forward once a series of 30 safety conditions outlined by the NEB are met. In December, the Parti Québécois government said it would approve the reversal plan if its safety concerns were met.
But on Thursday during a campaign stop, Québec solidaire Leader Françoise David said the PQ hasn’t shown much, if any, leadership on the Enbridge file. David went so far as to accuse Premier Pauline Marois of kowtowing to the Alberta oilsands lobbyists.
“It’s astounding to see a socalled sovereignist government so beholden to the federal government and to the Albertan oil interests,” David said. “We consider that very far from the free Quebec we dream of.”
Though no one from the PQ was immediately available for comment, the provincial government has argued for stringent safety standards — which include more inspections of the pipeline, a better knowledge of exactly what kind of oil is flowing through it and a better emergency plan in the event of a spill. During the past four decades, there have been spills at about 20 sites along the pipeline.
Environmental groups were also quick to point out Enbridge’s role in the Kalamazoo River oil spill in Michigan, where an Enbridge pipeline ruptured, spilling more than three million litres of oil.
“That was over three years ago and they’re still cleaning up that mess,” said Sidney Ribaux, a spokesman for environmental group Équiterre. “Now imagine something like that in or around Montreal. If there’s a spill near the Outaouais River, where the pipeline crosses, its only a matter of time before that oil corrupts Montreal’s water supply.”
Greenpeace spokesman Patrick Bonin said he’s concerned the chemicals added to Alberta oil could corrode the pipeline, putting it at greater risk of rupture. In the NEB’s decision, officials stated they found no increased risk of corrosion with the use of oilsands oil.
Quebec’s Conseil du patronat has long pushed for the Line 9B plan, saying it’s indispensable to the province’s economy. In a news release issued Thursday, Enbridge representatives said the pipeline will save 4,000 Quebec jobs.
Canada’s oil lobby also praised the NEB’s decision, claiming it is one more step toward its goal of doubling the country’s oil production to 6.7 million barrels per day by 2030.
“We can’t double our oil production and protect the environment at the same time,” Ribaux said. “We tend to look at Alberta and call them polluters. Well, we’re not only enabling them, we’re an active part of that process now.”
A spokesperson for the NEB said Thursday it will guarantee safety protocols surrounding the pipeline “beyond the shadow of a doubt.” However, despite requests from a number of environmental groups, the NEB will not force Enbridge to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec and Ontario.