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Council of Canadians opposes the Energy East pipeline

Proposed route of the Energy East pipeline.

TransCanada is proposing the Energy East pipeline. It would be a 4,400 kilometre pipeline stretching from Alberta to New Brunswick. It would carry 500,000 to 850,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan. The company would convert 3,000 kilometres of an existing natural gas pipeline to Quebec and build an additional 1,400 kilometres of pipeline from there to New Brunswick. The pipeline to Quebec could be converted by 2017, the pipeline to New Brunswick completed and operational by 2018. It is expected that TransCanada will seek approval from the National Energy Board for the pipeline this fall.

To read a fuller overview, please see Council of Canadians climate campaigner Maryam Adrangi’s Primer on the pipeline.

Among the dozen or so talking points to keep in mind that have been reflected in campaign blogs:

Approvals

Tar sands/ climate damage

Export/ energy security

Pipeline safety/ risk of spills

Water protection

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow has stated, “The Energy East pipeline would pose serious threats to local water supplies and communities along the route. The option then to export to the much larger and more profitable markets of India, China and Europe from the deep water port in Saint John with massive tankers in the Bay of Fundy is also a major concern of ours. Going after these pipelines is the most important fight we can have right now. Pipelines are the bloodlines of the tar sands. If we allow these pipeline to go ahead, it’s going to mean that the industry is setting energy policy in Canada. These pipelines mean that you’ll need to keep them full and that means a massive expansion of the tar sands and that means that we will never be able to get the alternative energy future we need.”

The Council of Canadians began following the proposed TransCanada pipeline when it first became public in March 2012.In February 2013 we issued our first media release in opposition to the pipeline.

Among the campaign actions we have planned, the Council of Canadians will:


  • launch a national petition against the Energy East pipeline;

  • call on Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to reject the pipeline crossing Ontario;

  • participate in any public consultations held by the Quebec government;

  • support municipal opposition to the pipeline;

  • intervene in the National Energy Board hearings on this pipeline.

More to come.