The death of Energy East
Re: Energy East is dead — No Plan B for Liberals on energy, Claudia Cattaneo; and Why this pipe dream had to die, Terence Corcoran, Oct. 6 There are many reasons to be enraged about this decision. But for me the worst thing is the sight of Montreal’s mayor claiming it a great victory. How could the mayor of Canada’s second- largest city be happy about the loss of thousands of Canadian jobs and the loss of billions of dollars in tax revenue? Denis Coderre is gloating while hard- working Canadians from coast to coast will feel the negative impact of this scandalous decision. Nelson Buffett, Hamilton, Ont. Terence Corcoran is correct; obviously in the end the economics of the project didn’t make sense any longer. But Claudia Cattaneo is also right when she states that the failure of this project is a national embarrassment.
And there’s no more hypocritical politician Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. To see him gloating on Thursday after the project was cancelled was sickening.
The failure of Energy East raises the question: Is Canada a country or not? The development of Alberta’s oilsands continues to benefit all Canadians, and getting that oil to tidewater for export is crucial to the Canadian economy. Andrew van Velzen, Toronto It is an undeniable fact that Alberta has been the primary source of funds flowing through the transfer payment pipeline to Ottawa. Denis Coderre is a prime example of a grandiosely entitled recipient of this dubious welfare project. He may be “very proud” about his role in the death of yet another Canadian energy project but he exhibits no gratitude at all for the years his province has been belly up to the Alberta buffet. So where will the money come from now?
There is no national energy plan. Richard Zylka, Calgary The cancellation of the Energy East pipeline project begs the question: Why is protecting the West Coast from tanker spills more important than the East Coast? Why are we allowing tankers full of foreign oil to endanger our East Coast and shunning tanker shipments from the West? How would the government react to a suggested ban on East Coast tanker traffic to protect our coast and fisheries? I’m sure New Brunswick has an opinion on this. David Hawkswell, Oakville, Ont.