Pipeline Reviews Should Favour Canadian Steel

Regina–Lewvan MP Erin Weir delivered the following member’s statement in the House of Commons on February 3, 2017:

“The Liberal government recently approved two major pipeline projects without knowing where or how the pipe would be produced.

Making a ton of steel in China and shipping it here emits five times as much carbon as making it at the Evraz steel mill in Regina.

Unlike imported pipe, we can test Canadianmade pipe throughout the manufacturing process.

Fortunately, Enbridge will use pipe made in Regina for its Line 3 Replacement Project. Unfortunately, Kinder Morgan has not indicated where it will source pipe for the Trans Mountain Expansion.

A new review process for pipelines should consider the pipe supplier’s emissions and reliability. Doing so would favour Canadian-made steel and support good jobs at Evraz in Regina.”

Conservatives present themselves as cheerleaders for pipelines, but have no policy on where the pipe is manufactured. When in government, they allowed a flood of unfairly-traded Chinese steel into Canada.

Conservative leadership candidates Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier promise to enshrine private property rights in the Constitution. But pipelines, railways and highways require the expropriation of land. Such infrastructure could not be built if every land-owner along the route had a veto.

By contrast, the federal NDP advocates an orderly review process for pipeline proposals, including proper consultation with local communities and First Nations. Pipelines should be considered in the context of a plan to control emissions, as the Alberta government has set out. Using Canadian-made steel would help to limit emissions.