OTTAWA — The mayor of northern British Columbia’s
says he’s following Premier David Eby’s lead in taking
a wait-and-see strategy
to rebooting the cancelled Northern Gateway Pipeline challenge.
Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond informed the Nationwide Put up on Friday that he’s reserving judgment till he sees a brand new proposal on the desk.
“I’m just a little bit (extra) with Premier Eby… Till there’s a challenge and a proponent, we’re not going to spend a lot time on it,” mentioned Pond.
“It’s so laborious to have a dialogue about an imaginary challenge.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has pushed closely for a
revival of the shelved pipeline
which might have shipped as much as
525,000 barrels of Alberta oil
per day by means of close by Kitimat, B.C., and in the end to markets within the Asia-Pacific area by way of tanker.
the revamped North Coast pipeline ought to finish on the Port of Prince Rupert, citing its shut proximity to potential consumers in markets like Japan and South Korea.
She’s additionally mentioned that transport Alberta oil by means of northern B.C. is likely one of the greatest issues Canada can do to scale back its financial dependency on high buying and selling companion the US.
However Eby says that Smith is getting forward of herself with no entity, public or non-public, coming ahead but to guide the challenge.
“There’s no proponent, there’s no cash, there’s no challenge proper now,”
throughout a commerce go to Seoul, South Korea.
Pond says he agrees with Smith that Prince Rupert is probably the most logical vacation spot for a brand new pipeline carrying Alberta oil to the Pacific Ocean.
“If (technical dimensions) have been the one factor you have been scoring it on… Rupert would rating the very best,” mentioned Pond.
“Prince Rupert is a really deep pure harbour, doesn’t should be dredged (and) we’re not shifting by means of a congested site visitors space (like) Vancouver.”
However he added {that a} new oil pipeline wouldn’t make or break Prince Rupert economically, and is probably not well worth the threat of an oil spill within the delicate marine ecosystem.
Pond mentioned that, like Eby, he helps the federal moratorium
alongside B.C.’s northern coast.
“There are values round
and the atmosphere on the North Coast being as pristine as it’s,” mentioned Pond.
Residents of Kitimat
voted in opposition to Northern Gateway
by a margin of 58.4 per cent to 41.6 per cent in a non-binding 2014 plebiscite.
The pipeline was killed in 2016 by then prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Pond says he’d help any new oil pipeline challenge being put to the folks of Prince Rupert in an analogous method.
“Once you get to that place, a plebiscite could also be one of many issues that we wish to take into account by way of gauging the neighborhood’s voice,” mentioned Pond.
Pond
that B.C. “owes” Alberta a good listening to on the query of a brand new West Coast heavy oil pipeline.
“I believe we owe it… to our neighbours, our fellow Canadians, to at the least study it very, very critically.”
Nationwide Put up
rmohamed@postmedia.com
B.C premier not backing Alberta’s proposal to revive Northern Gateway
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