Forget pipeline, go carbon-neutral

The departing, tired Premier Wall needs an enemy and cries out with the same west/ east rhetoric and chestthumping of old.

The Energy East pipeline still was an export pipeline, not one to replace eastern imported oil. Most refineries near Energy East could not refine tarsands oil. Even with Energy East, we would have had oil sent by trains and trucks because of their flexibility to change destinations.

What has changed is that much of the expansion of the tarsands in Alberta has evaporated, one of the major drivers for this pipeline. And with Kinder Morgan and Keystone XL pipelines approved, it was always a third option to get oil to tidewater.

With oil prices stuck at US$50 a barrel for the foreseeable future thanks to OPEC, with many export markets proposing more renewable energy sources, and with China and others reducing more of their GHG emissions as per the Paris Accord, the economics are clear. Who wants to spend $15 billion, have 4,600 kilometres of stranded assets and no economic return?

Compounding this with the lack of necessary environmental oversight and protection in place and unwillingness on all parties to adequately consult with the First Nations on all pipelines in Canada, you have the decision you have today.

Brad Wall’s bluster and the industry’s cries of lost potential will dissipate quickly once we begin to work aggressively towards a carbon-neutral economy.

Jim Elliott, chairperson, Regina chapter, Council of Canadians