Editor:
In reference to a recently published op-ed in another newspaper titled, ‘BC’s opposition to pipeline is costing us billions,’ I have to say I believe Canadian taxpayers never lost a dime, never mind the $6.2 billion claimed by the Canadian Taxpayer Federation (CTF).
In fact, it was the Federal Conservatives and the BC Liberals, along with the Alberta provincial government that have failed miserably at getting Alberta bitumen to tidewater.
It bemuses me how their combined failure translates into their good works, and all the blame falls squarely on Canada’s only cooperative government.
Blaming the NDP and the BC Greens for Alberta’s miscue of mining bitumen instead of drilling for oil and refining it here in Canada only shows how out of touch with reality this political organization is.
The governments of Alberta, both past and present, have turned this into such a political football, they have figuratively cut off their noses to spite their face. As they are using the majority of their current capacity to ship the less lucrative dilbit, to put the squeeze on BC drivers gasoline supply, of which they then deprive their own taxpayers of increased revenues.
But you have to give them credit, as they are great at inventing evidence. For example, that they are increasing the number of oil shipments by rail, by eight fold. That would mean that the CPR line traffic would rise from one train a day to eight. I live on the line. That’s simply not happening.
Then they speak about how much safer pipelines are. The TMX has been in the ground close to 70 years. It’s own employees, many that I know, refer to it as the “great soaker hose.”
Their best statement is, “we aren’t reducing global emissions by blocking pipelines.” How’s that for genius?
If you’ve noticed lately, now that supply lines are back up and running, the price of fuel has dropped substantially. Recently in Hope, I paid a $1.25/litre. Still no pipeline.
The truth is that opposition to pipelines, and the extinction of the human species, has created an awareness to the real problems facing all of us and the rest of the world.
It is time to mobilize against this exponential threat of one million species extinction, and there is only one way forward. We must stop burning fossil fuels sooner than later.
After all, the greatest economic catalyst the world will ever see will be the transformation to clean and renewable energy systems.
Art Green
