Open letter to: Energy ministers – Ottawa, Victoria, Edmonton
For the good of all Canadians, I believe it is now time for senior governments, in conjunction with the petroleum industry, to jointly fund the construction of combined oil and gas pipelines in a corridor to west coast tidewater.
Canadian governments have been vocal on the need for infrastructure spending to help the economy and what better project on which to do this?
There is an oil and gas corridor route that is feasible and actually superior to the currently-proposed routes to Kitimat and Prince Rupert. The corridor route would tie into existing pipelines at McLeod Lake, B.C., and proceed westerly over the Omineca Plateau to tidewater at Portland Inlet (Nass Bay area).
The main advantages of this northern route are: the Nass tidewater location is less restricted than Douglas Channel (Kimitat route) with less traffic than the Prince Rupert terminal; the route crosses mainly Crown land and has a fraction of the private land concerns; fewer aboriginal tribes are impacted and, in fact, the main aboriginal land holder (Nisgaa First Nation) is in support of a Nass Bay terminal and the economic development of the Nass Bay area.
In support of the feasibility of the Omineca Corridor route, Trans Canada Pipelines has selected this approximate route as their chosen option for the Pacific Northwest LNG project. That it is feasible for governments to be directly involved in funding such projects, it should be noted that the Alaska government has recently announced their intention to directly fund a significant share of a new pipeline from the north slope to the Gulf of Alaska.
As you know, we are now more than ever in competition with the USA in regards to the export of oil and natural gas to world markets. To compete effectively and to jump-start the western Canadian economy, we need senior Canadian governments to step up by approving and helping to directly fund the construction of this proposed oil/gas pipeline corridor project.
Dan Blower,
Campbell River