In my opinion, letter writer David Ellis takes a rather short-sighted view of the Kinder Morgan Canada (KMC) pipeline project. Yes, the new line is mainly for export, but visit the ports of Vancouver or Prince Rupert and you will find many of the commodities shipped are mainly for export. Guess what— we are an exporting nation and always have been. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade website, if we stopped all exports, 3.3 million jobs would be lost and national unemployment would jump to 25 per cent. Energy exports are the largest part of our total export revenues.
Mr. Ellis can see only negative benefits from the project because he is not taking a Canadian perspective. In my opinion, he is taking a narrow “what’s in it for me and my town” approach. Benefits of the KMC project range from manufacturing of equipment in Ontario for Alberta oil and gas production facilities, royalties to Alberta, taxes to all levels of governments including B.C. municipalities, thousands of jobs in construction in Alberta and B.C., some permanent operations jobs, and so on. If you take only a view of benefits for you personally, or your town, we probably would not have cross country railroads, interprovincial power lines, or other interprovincial infrastructure!
Mr. Ellis’ claim that tar sands bitumen is the worst polluting of oils is wrong. According to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the “dirtiest oil in North America” is not produced in Canada, but just outside Los Angeles. There are 13 crudes in California alone, plus crudes from six other countries worldwide, that rate dirtier than diluted bitumen, including Alaska North Slope crude tankered by the Americans into Puget Sound.
He is wrong about the Kalamazoo oil spill being “unrecoverable”. American government reports show most of the oil has been recovered, although minor amount remain in the sediments. The river is reopened to the public; it was not killed “for a generation or more” as he implies.
If, as he claims, KMC tries to keep the spills from public view, why are they published on their website at www.transmountain.com/uploads/pages/1422040950-Dec-2014-Spill-Chart-for-posting-FINAL.pdf?
If he means as he had complained previously that KMC will not allow non-response personnel on a spill site, of course they won’t due to safety and liability concerns.
John Hunter, P. Eng.
President and CEO
J. Hunter & Associates Ltd.
North Vancouver, B.C.
