Municipal leaders in and around Montreal are lining up to object to TransCanada Corp.'s (
TSX:TRP,
Forum) proposed Energy East pipeline Thursday, complaining the possible costs of an oil cleanup override the economic returns of the project.
But Alberta Wildrose opposition leader Brian Jean had harsh words for the Francophones.
“You can't dump raw sewage, accept foreign tankers, benefit from equalization and then reject our pipelines,” he said, before attacking Alberta Premier Rachel Notley for not defending the project against its opponents.
The 82 jurisdiction Montreal Metropolitan Community, which is led by the Mayor of Montreal, says it will be heard at upcoming National Energy Board hearings on the topic and will definitely not be in support.
The proposed project would look to carry over 1 million barrels of crude a day from Alberta to New Brunswick. Opponents say the economic benefit to Quebec would only amount to $2 million per year, while a cleanup from an oil spill would cost much more.
REACTION:
TransCanada stock up slightly to $44.17, though pipeline opposition has seen the stock find a new base in recent months, down from $55 previously.
OUR TAKE:
Look, I'm all for environmental considerations and making sure any project that puts them in question is held to the highest standards before commencement - but if you don’t want a pipeline, here’s a question for you: What road or railroad would you like TransCanada to instead use to transport 1 million barrels of oil per day through your province?
Granted, nobody wants an oil pipeline running through their backyard, but the chances of a catastrophic spill go up exponentially when you’re running freight trains full of the stuff through Canada’s urban neighbourhoods by rail, and even more so when you opt to load up hundreds of trucks and roll them across country at 3am – and that’s before you even get into the environmental damage those modes of transport leave in their wake.
If you really don’t want oil moving across the country, stop using it. Until that happens, it has to move somehow, and a double hulled, wi-fi fitted, constantly monitored state of the art pipeline system is honestly the best way to make that happen.
And when you get right down to it, does anyone believe that the powers that be in Quebec are relaly concerned about the environment as much as they’re using strongarm tactics to get a better economic deal? Or maybe some sort of processing facility in that province?
According to the Canadian press, the Quebec government has said ‘it wants the province to serve as more than just a passageway for TransCanada, urging the company to demonstrate real economic benefits for the province.’
In other words, in the good old tradition of Quebec graft/subsidies - pay me or else.
Nobody understands political extortion better than the Quebec government, but in my opinion, TransCanada should call Quebec’s bluff and start planning its ‘road bridge’ across the province, with trucks rolling through residential neighbourhoods around the clock.
One assumes a pipeline will be quickly welcomed if that happens, and all of Canada will duly benefit.
--Chris Parry
https://www.twitter.com/chrisparry