B.C. hurt by pipeline politics

This past two years we have seen two political leaders in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan, (propped up by Green party leader Andrew Weaver) standing on their soap boxes claiming:

1. That getting a tidewater pipeline built is in the national interest and it will be built: Trudeau.

2. That they are standing up for the environment: the new dual leaders of British Columbia. What hypocrisy. Looking at the facts: The Northern Gateway Pipeline was properly approved by the federal and provincial governments, negotiated with First Nations and received the approval of all regulatory regimes.

Then Trudeau passed a “one-port” blockade of tankers in Northern B.C. coastal waters to shut down the safest and lowest-risk export route for Alberta oil to tidewater.

The next step to get oil to tidewater was Energy East, reversing an existing pipeline, and extending it to Quebec and New Brunswick refineries.

Trudeau and cabinet blocked that with new and extreme environmental-protection thresholds beyond anywhere else in the world.

This pipeline would have eliminated up to 3,000 of those ‘dangerous’ tankers entering Canadian water off the Atlantic Coast and the St. Lawrence River, carrying crude oil from unethical and environmentally and human rights abusive nations like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Venezuela.

It would have meant Canadian oil for Canadian needs, keeping our jobs, profits and taxes in Canada.

There are over 5,000 tankers annually entering hundreds of ports in Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, as well as the Great Lakes.

Why was the only tanker embargo at the terminus of the approved Northern Gateway pipeline? Because of political pandering by Canadian anti-oil politicians catering to a minority view of vocal and foreign-financed environmental activists.

Coal is a worse polluter of the environment, both in its mining and when burnt, than petroleum products. Yet, politicians are allowing both Canadian coal and U.S. thermal coal (too dirty to pass through Washington and Oregon ports) to move through west coast terminals. What hypocrisy.

The silent majority need to stand up and demand the interests of Canada come before political strategy to cling to power.