Energy East pause puts Liberal argument on environment and pipelines in question
OTTAWA — Federal government policies tying environmental impacts to regulatory approval of pipelines are sending investors fleeing for more certain ground, critics and pipeline proponents said Friday.
The comments come a day after TransCanada Corp., said it was asking the National Energy Board to suspend its application for the 4,500-kilometre Energy East pipeline between Alberta and New Brunswick for one month while it figures out if the NEB’s environmental assessment of the line will affect the economic argument for the project.
The NEB last month announced the outline of its new review process for Energy East and said for the first time the environmental assessment will include an examination of the greenhouse gas emissions created at all stages, from oil extraction to end use.
Canada West Foundation CEO Martha Hall Findlay, a former Liberal MP, said everyone wants to cut greenhouse emissions, but the government is not going to prove it can cut emissions and still build pipelines by “moving the goal posts in the middle of a major investment decision.”