The war of words between BC and Alberta’s premiers has begun to reveal some true colours. BC wants more revenue if it’s going to assume the environmental risk and Alberta says no way. BC says it wants Alberta to cover the cost of clean up if there is a spill in their pipeline and the Alberta premiere said that was ridiculous. Clearly the bottom line is greed.
The primary concern is environmental risk. The primary concern is a Huston firm that has a horrible history of bad maintenance and bad safety standards. This has tainted the project and swayed the balances in favor of rejecting the proposal. Letting this company build the pipeline would be irresponsible. Period. There is no reason a Canadian company or another company with a better track record of maintenance and safety standards could take over the project.
Another concern is transporting toxic unrefined oil. Not only is that exporting jobs, it is increasing the environmental risk. Canada is famous for shooting itself in the foot and exporting raw materials. This is very short sighted. We could solve the pipeline problem by drilling oil off shore on the BC coast.
Realistically, a pipeline doesn’t create jobs in BC. It may generate revenue providing clean up costs from an oil spill doesn’t suck up that limited revenue. Tourism on the other hand does create jobs in the province.
Whatever we do decide to do, it is imperative we be selective in the company we entrust our sacred environment to. Enbridge is not the company to trust. These companies with bad maintenance and bad safety standards keep changing their name to avoid liability yet they stay involved and keep causing accidents with no regard for others. The only way this will change is if we change the company that gets the contract. We need better safety standards. I do not support Enbridge’s bid on the Northern Pipeline any more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enbridge
ReplyDeleteEnbridge is a Canadian company HQ in Calgary.
They no doubt have an office in Calgary but it has been reported that they are a Huston based company. Their documented history of bad maintenance and bad safety means they should not be given the contract for the northern pipeline: http://www.enbridgepartners.com/EEP
ReplyDeleteI just want to tell all BC'ers what Albertans think of us.
ReplyDeleteI was out there trying to put out forest fires; we risk our lives to be in Heli-Attack.
The Albertans told me; That ALL BC'ers are "drug-addicts."
I was called a "mushroom-grazer." "A pot addict", all summer long.
Even worse than this, they constantly told me that
ALL BC'ers are LAZY, LAZY, LAZY. We are just worthless, and Albertans are the only hard workers in all of this country. They told me their work is the only thing supporting the BC'ers, , as with the "Eastern Bastards." "Pot Addicts;" all of us are constant hard-drug users. I had had it. So, in defence of myself, my BC fire-fighters, and everyone in this Province, I picked up a 2 by 4 and whacked it into the foreman's empty fuckin' head.
Every person has their breaking point, and by the end of that summer I met mine.
NO one can possibly know how much I hate the fucking Albortians.
When those bastards get near me I pick up my shotgun.
Albertans are the SCUM of the EARTH.
Say what you mean :) Surely they don't all feel that way. Just a handful of hillbillies you worked with. Calgary and Edmonton as well as many of their small towns have their own drug problems. Calgary's a nice town. I was a bit hesitant with the urban cowboy thing but I found it very upbeat and multicultural.
DeleteI, for one, had mixed feelings when I went on vacation to Vancouver Island this summer. Half the campers in the big motorhomes were from Alberta (I stayed in a tent). On the one hand, I felt like asking them why they are not vacationing in the oil sands. They messed their own bed, they should have to sleep in it. On the other hand, considering they hold British Columbians in so much contempt, they sure like giving us their money!
DeleteIt may be only a matter of time until Albertans begin hiding their true identity like the Americans do when abroad. They call us Canadians dirty liberals, socialists, etc., then when they go on vacation they stick a Canadian flag on their luggage!
There's good and bad everywhere. The Albertans I've met are fine. There is a sound argument about camping in the tar sands though. Tourism is an industry in BC that creates jobs. A pipeline running through BC doesn't create jobs. A leaking pipeline through BC will damage the tourism and the jobs that we do have. That Enbridge oil spill in Alberta that went into a river and contaminated a recreational lake is a prime example. Sales on that recreational property just took a nose dive. I know there are a lot of stereotypes about American tourists being rude but a friend from work had the opposite experience in disneyland. He finds Americans in their own country to be very friendly. He met some Canadian tourists in disneyland that were very rude. My daughter had a friend up from Texas a while ago. He stayed in Surrey and was surprised everyone wanted to fight him and kick his ass. (Just because nothing to do with him being from Texas) He said people were much friendlier back home. I thought that was somewhat ironic.
DeleteEnbridge is a Canadian company, it is not based in Huston and never has been. The head office has always been in Alberta.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I think that's bullshit. The link I posted said the headquarters of the Enbridge "Partnership" is in huston. That was from their web site. When reporting the Kalamazoo oil spill, they said Enbridge was a Huston based company. If it's HQ was Canada, the US medias would have been all over it in the Michigan oil spill. Either way, it has a long history of poor maintenance and bad safety. For that reason alone they should lose the contract.
ReplyDelete