Stephen Harper approves Northern Gateway pipeline

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Despite historic levels of opposition from Canadians across the country including First Nations, unions, and environmentalists, Prime Minister Stephen Harper approved Enbridge’s application to build the “Northern Gateway” pipeline from Northern Alberta to Kitimat, BC.

The pipeline will carry raw bitumen across approximately 800 rivers and streams in Northern BC to 225 supertankers per year. Harper and Enbridge claim that the project will create jobs, but the lasting impact will be only 228 permanent jobs for a $6-billion project.

Instead of developing a plan to manage the extraction in a manner that meets Canada’s international commitments to greenhouse gas emissions, the Northern Gateway Pipeline will grow the Oilsands by 30 per cent without creating a single Canadian refinery job.

"The energy industry feeds our families and supports our industries. But we don’t support exporting our raw bitumen to be refined in other countries,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president. “Northern Gateway ignores the reality of climate change, offers few long-term jobs, and doesn't address First Nations’ concerns. Unifor is committed to working with First Nations and environmental organizations to find a better way forward.”

Continuing opposition promises to be fierce. Over 130 First Nations have signed the Save the Fraser Declaration against the project. The Union of BC Municipalities has opposed the pipeline, and on April 12, 2014 Kitimat residents rejected the pipeline in a non-binding referendum.