Pipeline support ‘a sad state of affairs’

I was disheartened to open the Sept. 13 edition of the Cape Breton Post and see a full-page ad from the Alberta NDPs, touting the urgent need for a new Trans Mountain pipeline.

What a sad state of affairs for a government elected on a progressive platform to be advertising their addiction to a dying, destructive fuel source in newspapers across the country. It is hardly an inspiring direction to lead Canadians in the 21st century.

I know I’m not alone in my conviction that the Trans Mountain project is a grave mistake. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received harsh criticism for his choice to buy Kinder Morgan’s imaginary pipeline (for $4.5 billion dollars). He claimed the government would find new investors to buy up the project, but anyone outside the oil industry could see that it’s an albatross around our collective neck.

Kinder Morgan backed out because of the numerous and repeated environmental concerns raised — by the British Columbia government, by First Nations organizations and by concerned citizens in general. Those concerns have effectively halted the project now and throwing $450,000 per week into an ad campaign to whine about it only makes the NDPs seem desperate and petty.

But more than a boondoggle, the pipeline — and any continued investment in the oil sands — represents a grave error in long-term planning for the country and the planet. The oil sands’ environmental costs are very real and very terrifying, and in the long run they unquestionably outstrip the economic benefits of a twinned pipeline to the Pacific. Don’t take my word for it though. A coalition of 41 Order of Canada recipients have just signed a letter decrying the pipeline, and calling for the nation to “invest in the transition to clean energy and a diversified economy as rapidly as possible.”

The NDP ads claim that the halt in construction is “costing Canadians $40 million per day,” but there is another set of costs: Alberta’s oil sands account for 10 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, and annually emit 150 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and other climate disrupting pollutants. More than any other project in North America, the oil sands are to blame for wildfires, droughts and for this summer’s blazingly hot temperatures — and more to come in future years.

By framing the debate as “economy vs. climate,” pipeline advocates seek to scare us into choosing short-term benefits, but the long-term costs of a fossil fueldependent planet are not just expensive, they’re deadly. We need to push for better, cleaner options. Not just for our children’s sakes, but for our own.

This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. I supported Trudeau’s Liberals, and when I lived in Alberta I was an NDP fan. But both governments have lost sight of the only safe road and now, trapped in quicksand, they are beckoning all Canadians to join them in the mire. I’m willing to accept they don’t recognize they’re in a trap, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to dive in.