The federal government’s approval of the Northern Gateway project has many vowing to fight the pipeline, but others, like Nanaimo-Alberni Conservative MP James Lunney say it was the right decision.
He says Enbridge will have to meet all 209 of the conditions set out by the National Energy Board.
Lunney says people need to “take a deep breath” and look at the evidence. He says lot of people support the pipeline project, including the many BC residents working in the oil sands. He points to the Nanaimo airport as an example of the economic activity driven by the oil sands, which has charter flights serving Fort McMurray. He says those workers bring home good wages to Vancouver Island.
As for fears that an oil spill could potentially devastate BC’s coast, Lunney says they’re over the top.
He says the federal government believes the potential risks can be mitigated. He points to the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an example of a worst-case-scenario, and says oil tankers operating off BC’s coast don’t pose nearly as great a risk.
Meanwhile, both the federal NDP and Liberals have said they strongly oppose the Northern Gateway pipeline and would cancel the project if elected in 2015.
