By Janet Holder,
Special to The Post
The Northern Gateway Pipeline holds enormous economic potential for British Columbians in every corner of our province.
It will generate thousands of jobs, offer new skills training opportunities for young people and help provide the revenue we need to support vital public services we all depend on, like health care and education.
And just as importantly, the Northern Gateway Pipeline will be the safest, most environmentally secure pipeline ever built.
It is clear from what we have heard from people around the province that they want a strong economy and a clean environment and, they believe that Premier Clark’s five conditions for the development of oil pipelines make sense.
At Northern Gateway Pipeline, we believe the Premier’s five conditions make sense as well.
That is why we are working hard to meet them. And it is why Northern Gateway’s commitment to environmental sustainability is core to our vision for this project and to the extraordinary economic legacy it will have for our province and future generations.
To build a new pipeline requires us to rise to the highest standard possible -- to plan for and construct the safest, most environmentally secure pipeline ever built as well as providing opportunity for young people to learn new skills and have more opportunities.
To build a new pipeline means generating the resources we need to support classroom education and good patient care in every corner of British Columbia.
We are ready to work with the BC Government to meet their five conditions.
On the coast, tankers will be doubled hulled, and there will be highly-trained BC pilots to escort each one into and away from shore.
We will use the most advanced land-based radar system in the world.
Our response plan will exceed every government regulation and standard. On land, the pipeline will be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The steel we will use will be 20 percent thicker than any ever used on a pipeline project of this size and our leak detection systems will be second to none.
In communities along the route British Columbians will have access to new training and new jobs. In fact, we have already committed to $3 million in core funding for a Gateway Education and Training Fund to support training initiatives that focus on pipeline construction skills – skills which are highly transferable and allow for employment in multi-industry environments.
Every British Columbian – no matter where they live — will benefit from the billions of dollars in new economic activity that can support our quality of life.
Of course, there’s a lot more work to do. The job is not done.
That is the message the Government of British Columbia gave to the National Energy Board’s Joint Review Panel.
The government’s submission was tough and focused and reaffirmed their commitment to the five conditions they have put forward as a condition for pipeline development.
But there is a path to yes. On that the new government is very clear.
The five conditions cannot be fully met until the end of the Joint Review Panel process but we are working hard to meet the conditions and the high standards the Premier has set out for us.
As a British Columbian, I am personally committed, as is Northern Gateway, to building a pipeline project that meets the highest possible safety and environmental standards anywhere in the world—and a Project that creates new jobs and opportunities for British Columbians.
We can open up new markets and transform our economy for tomorrow’s generation. We can provide First Nations with new hope and new opportunity. And we can build the safest, most environmentally secure pipeline anywhere in the world.
The Northern Gateway Pipeline is building a strong economy in a secure and protected environment. It is about ensuring our children have the same opportunities we did. It is about maintaining the quality of life that makes us so proud to live in British Columbia.
That is the promise of the Northern Gateway Pipeline. And that is why we are working so hard to meet every condition the Premier and British Columbians have demanded for the development of this project. In the Northern Gateway Pipeline, British Columbians have the potential to transform our economy and secure a brighter future for everyone in the province. And that is worth striving for.
Janet Holder is the Executive Vice President of Western Access at Enbridge Inc .
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