MONTREAL - The CEO of Enbridge (
TSX:T.ENB,
Stock Forum) says the proposed reversal of the company's pipeline to bring crude oil to Eastern Canada will help Quebec's economy and the competitiveness of its two refineries.
Al Monaco told the Montreal Board of Trade that the reversal of Line 9 will sustain refining capacity and the more than 4,000 jobs that depend on it while also helping ensure the vitality of Montreal's industrial ecosystem.
The National Energy Board will conduct hearings on the proposal in October, with a decision expected in 2014.
Monaco says Quebecers favour the line reversal but that public trust is tested by events, including the deadly rail crash involving crude oil in Lac Megantic, Que.
He says the public's perceptions are shaped more by such failures than successes.
Monaco also said that a 2010 spill in Marshall, Mich., shook the company and was “very difficult and humbling” but that it responded by improving its spill response and processes.