Canada’s New Pipeline Woes

 In the proposed Northern Gateway project, a pipeline similar to this would carry bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C. Photograph by: Candace Elliott, file photo , edmontonjournal.com Photograph

By IAN AUSTEN . OTTAWA — AND you thought pipeline politics in the United States were treacherous. Rebuffed by Washington on bringing the Keystone XL pipeline down through the western United States, Canada now finds that its Plan B — to build a pipeline to its west coast for shipping to Asia — has become mired in domestic politics thick enough to rival the tarlike oil it hopes to sell.                                                                                                                                                                       Getting the oil to the Far East first requires building a $5.5 billion, 730-mile pipeline from  landlocked Alberta over a series of mountains to the coast of northern British Columbia. About 220 tankers a year would then navigate some of Canada’s most scenic yet treacherous waters to complete the trip.                                                                                                                                       While opposition from environmentalists and some native groups was always expected, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project has unexpectedly united British Columbians who normally are on opposite sides. Mistakes by Enbridge, which is based in Canada, have further fueled the resistance. They included missteps at regulatory hearings and the handling of a recent pipeline spill in Michigan, which was sharply criticized by the American authorities... Continue reading...