Energy East Cancellation - A Blow to the Economy and the Environment
The cancellation of the Energy East pipeline this week was a blow for the economy and the environment.
The cancellation of the Energy East pipeline this week was a blow for the economy and the environment.
The pipeline would have transported 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Alberta to New Brunswick, employing Canadians from coast to coast and opening up additional markets to Canadian oil. By allowing Canadians on the East Coast to access the best product from Alberta oilfields, it would have been a nation-building project on the scale of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Energy East cancellation isn’t just bad news for Canadian workers – it also prevents us from doing our part to reduce global emissions.
By producing and transporting Canadian oil - produced to best standards in the world using the leading technologies - we can reduce the need for foreign oil from states with lower standards and less stringent environmental protections. Energy East would have enabled this.
According to the National Energy Board, Canada’s top three sources of overseas oil are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Nigeria (which produces some of the dirtiest oil in the world). And it’s our eastern provinces – particularly Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador – that are most reliant on these foreign imports.
We’re not reducing emissions or helping the planet by continuing to bring in foreign oil from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The environment wins when Canadians can use Canadian oil – and when we can transport our world-class energy across the globe.
That’s why Canada needs policies that will encourage nation-building projects that support our workers, our economy, and our environment.
The world needs more Canada – and, on a domestic level, Canada needs more Canada as well.