Send undiluted bitumen by rail

Re: Notley tells her staff to stay out of B.C. vote, April 14

Process, or rather lack of a suitable process, is what has led to the friction over the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast.

A proper process would ask whether or not the bitumen sands of Alberta should be mined, and if so how and how much.

The process would then ask where and how the bitumen should be transported and processed.

None of these questions has been addressed by the National Energy Board — because that has not been required of it.

These are questions perhaps best addressed by a Royal Commission to investigate the whole future of energy in Canada.

Meanwhile, if we ask what Albertans want and what British Columbians want, these can easily be reconciled.

Albertans want jobs and to get the bitumen to tidewater to sell it on the world market.

British Columbians want a pristine environment unpolluted by oil, and air that is not polluted by chemicals used to make the bitumen fluid. As well, we do not want a dangerous oil storage facility sandwiched between a residential community and a university.

These wishes will all be fulfilled if undiluted bitumen is put on trains to a port using the existing railroads. When undiluted bitumen is spilled it does not flow, is easily cleaned up, and there are none of the carcinogenic and toxic vapours that diluted bitumen releases when spilled.

There are additional benefits. The oil companies should like this as they could stop shipments at any time if they become uneconomical, unlike their present contracts, which require them to pay Kinder Morgan whether or not they ship any diluted bitumen.

We should all like it because shipments can be readily stopped if that becomes desirable. David Huntley, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby