After more than a generation of unnecessary review, the supporters of the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline anticipate that the National Energy Board will approve the project this fall.
Then the politics begin. Ottawa must be heavily involved if it is ever to be built, because the $16.2-billion line must be backstopped with loan guarantees by Canadian taxpayers. This is a challenge considering the fallout from the BP blowout and concern about Arctic oil and gas exploration and production.
But the Mackenzie line is long overdue and it is important that taxpayers and leaders alike understand the benefits and discount objections that are rooted in misinformation. These issues were the subject of the recent 10th Inuvik Petroleum Show.
Here are highlights:
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I think Diane is correct in her article. It is beyond belief that a nation would take several decades to make a decision that should have been decided in no more than a year.
It is to weep as we continue to see the influence of the environmental lobby continue to stonewall one elected government after another. It’s my view that Harper should tell them all to “take a hike” and end this impasse.
All he has to do is point at Al Gore and David Suzuki and exclaim “Need I say more?”
Their influence would end in a heartbeat and that would be a good thing.