TORONTO – Today, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley met with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to discuss climate change and the Energy East pipeline. The Council of Canadians is urging Premier Wynne to publicly reject the pipeline, which would lead to an additional 30 to 32 million tonnes of carbon pollution every year, undoing the progress made by Ontario’s phase-out of coal. Energy East would also cross critical waterways, including drinking water sources such as the Nipigon River that flows quickly into Lake Superior, North Bay’s Trout Lake, the Ottawa River, and the St. Lawrence.
“At 1.1 million barrels per day, the Energy East pipeline will allow increased production in Canada’s tar sands, our fastest growing source of climate pollution,” says Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy and Climate Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “Also, Energy East has a 15 per cent chance per year of rupturing and causing a serious oil spill that would threaten drinking water.”
The Ontario Energy Board’s review of the project found the pipeline presents more risks then benefits to Ontario.
“This is a risky plan that will only benefit Big Oil, not the people of Ontario,” says Mark Calzavara, Ontario Organizer with the Council of Canadians. “For the safety of our communities, waterways and climate, Premier Wynne must say no to Energy East.”
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For more information, please contact:
Andrea Harden-Donahue c. 613-793-5488
Mark Calzavara c. 416-319-6524
