Ontario to begin pipeline discussions
Environmental groups welcome chance to have input into provincial report to National Energy Board
The provincial government has ordered the Ontario Energy Board to ask people what they think about the proposed Energy East Pipeline, which would pass through part of Ottawa, in order to help inform Ontario’s position on the $12-billion project.
The announcement Wednesday from Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli was welcomed by several environmental groups, who say the province is stepping up to gather public input at a time when the federal Conservative government has shirked the responsibility.
It is the national energy regulator that will have the final say over the project.
The province has asked its energy board to launch the consultations early in the new year to provide all Ontarians, including First Nations and Métis, with an opportunity to express their views. The energy board’s report will in theory be factored into the province’s position in the federal approval process.
Proposed by TransCanada Corp., the project would see an existing natural gas pipeline converted to carry 1.1 million barrels of crude oil daily from Alberta and Saskatchewan to delivery points in Montréal, the Québec City region and Saint John, N.B., greatly enhancing producer access to Eastern Canadian and international markets, by 2017.
More than 2,000 kilometres — over 47 per cent — of the pipeline’s total 4,460 kilometres would cross through Ontario, including the southern tip of Ottawa and the Rideau River.
Chiarelli said the province’s intention is not to add another layer of oversight but rather to submit to the National Energy Board a comprehensive report that ensures “the voices and concerns of all Ontarians find expression during the coming federal regulatory process.”
“Climate issues and globalrelated environmental issues are of importance to the province of Ontario and we know that there are significant stakeholders out there who are concerned about that. They will have every opportunity to bring those to the table to the Ontario Energy Board and the energy board will take that under advisement in preparing their report,” the minister said.
Public safety and environmental protection, worldleading contingency planning and emergency response programs, consultation with aboriginals, and demonstrated economic benefits over the short and long term, are the key principles guiding the province’s approach to interprovincial pipelines, Chiarelli said.
He added that any economic and environmental risks and responsibilities, including remediation, should be borne exclusively by pipeline companies.
The province also wants to ensure that converting the pipe from gas to oil doesn’t leave Ontario short of gas supply, particularly at peak demand times.
Chiarelli, who represents Ottawa West-Nepean, was joined at the announcement by John Fraser, the Liberal MPP for Ottawa South.
Fraser has said previously that he would oppose this and any project that compromises the safety of Ottawa South residents, while both Premier Kathleen Wynne and Chiarelli have expressed a desire to work with TransCanada on its proposal.
Fraser said Wednesday that his position hasn’t changed. But, he added, creating a “public and open process to make sure we can provide some rigour, some public pressure and suasion, to ensure that we know what the risks are and that they’re mitigated, is a very, very important step forward.”
Launching provincial consultations is a recognition that the federal environmental assessment process is “fundamentally broken,” said Ecology Ottawa’s Graham Saul.
He said the Ontario government should say no to the pipeline.
“They have not said that here, so we’re not declaring victory of any kind whatsoever because all this really is, is a process,” Saul said. “But it is a process, it is an opportunity for people who care about this issue to have a voice, which right now, at a federal level, the Conservative government is moving us in the opposite direction.”
Gillian McEachern of the group Environmental Defence agreed, adding it’s important for the public to be able to put their concerns about a project of this size on the record.
“We think it’s a good way to kick-start discussion about whether or not this pipeline is in the best interest of the province,” she said.
Joe Oliver, the federal Natural Resources Minister, wasn’t available for an interview.
But in an email, Oliver said the federal government respects the Ontario government’s decision to consult, even though it remains committed to the “principle of one project, one review within a defined timeline.
“The Government of Canada is committed to highest safety and environmental performance standards. No project will proceed unless it is safe for Canadians and safe for the environment,” the email said.
TransCanada also declined an interview request, but said in an email: “We welcome the opportunity to get the facts out about the benefits of this project. The process Minister Chiarelli outlined this morning will give us another opportunity to do that,” said Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada’s president of energy and oil Pipeline.
The company said it has offered assurances in writing to the Ontario and Quebec governments and local gas-distribution companies that natural gas customers will continue to receive the gas they need to heat their homes and operate businesses.
TransCanada also said the project will create more than 2,400 direct full-time jobs, including 528 jobs during the development phase, 1,743 during the construction period and a further 181 jobs during the 40-year operations.