Jerry Dias reiterates Unifor opposition to Northern Gateway pipeline

VANCOUVER—The president of Canada’s largest union in the private sector today reaffirmed his organization’s opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and other energy projects that don’t create Canadian jobs.

“Canadians don’t benefit from pipelines that ship unrefined oil to other countries, plain and simple,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias told the union’s BC Regional Council in Vancouver. “Keystone XL, Northern Gateway, and the new Kinder Morgan pipeline all have one thing in common: they steal Canada’s natural resource wealth and leave us with nothing to show for it.”

Unifor is calling on the federal government to enforce greenhouse gas emission targets by limiting the future expansion of bitumen production. According to Dias, 25,000 high quality jobs would be created in Canada if the bitumen scheduled to flow through the Northern Gateway pipeline is refined and processed domestically.

“Good jobs for Canadians is Unifor’s top priority. We are going to fight to ensure that Canada’s natural resources are developed sustainably for the benefit of all Canadians,” said Dias.

Dias spoke to more than 200 Unifor delegates at the Westin Bayshore during the BC Regional Council’s inaugural meeting. He also talked about the union’s commitment to building a more inclusive union in all sectors of Canada’s economy.