XPost: bc.politics, ab.politics, can.politics   
   XPost: edm.general   
   From: "@nyet.ca   
      
   We don't want your steenkin' oil pipelines or their customers, the   
   Chinese tankers, plying our west coast waters.   
   Too bad you're land-locked with the stuff, eh?   
   ________________________________________________________   
      
   Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith pitches national energy corridor in   
   Vancouver speech   
      
      
   By Mariam Ibrahim, Edmonton JournalJune 13, 2014   
      
      
      
   EDMONTON - Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says the solution to Alberta’s   
   energy market access problems is a single, dedicated industrial corridor   
   that would start in Northern Ontario, cross the northern Prairies and   
   end at the West Coast.   
      
   In a speech to a Vancouver business crowd Thursday, Smith said the time   
   has come for a national discussion on a market access strategy that   
   considers a single, multi-use transportation, utility and commercial   
   corridor, where industry would not only be permitted, but encouraged.   
      
   “Rather than have industry come up with a multitude of ideas, proposals   
   and routes that would ultimately wind up in a series of endless   
   hearings, politicians would take the lead and settle as many issues as   
   possible in advance,” Smith told the $89 per plate luncheon organized by   
   Vancouver-based Curious Mind Productions, which has previously hosted   
   such high-profile speakers such as U.S. politician Ron Paul and   
   journalist Rex Murphy.   
      
   The corridor would cut through northwestern Canada, from Northern   
   Ontario through Manitoba to the West Coast. One dedicated route would   
   eliminate the need for separate regulatory process for each new proposed   
   project, provided the corridor is wide enough, said Smith, proposing a   
   kilometre-wide corridor.   
      
   “There’s been a new kind of grassroots activism that is making it nearly   
   impossible to get through the regulatory process,” Smith said in an   
   interview following her speech. “However, what I’ve also seen is that   
   those projects that are proposed on existing rights of way seem to have   
   a much easier time (and) greater public acceptance. If it’s this hard to   
   get these projects approved now, imagine how hard it’s going to be   
   decades from now.”   
      
   Smith, who told the audience she plans on becoming Alberta’s premier,   
   acknowledged the plan would be complicated. If past project proposals   
   are any indication, the idea would face widespread opposition from   
   environmentalists and First Nations communities.   
      
   The federal government is due next week to deliver its final decision on   
   Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which would ship bitumen from   
   Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, B.C. The controversial $6.5-billion   
   project, given a conditional go-ahead by the National Energy Board’s   
   joint review panel in December, has been fraught with delays and massive   
   resistance in B.C., especially among coastal B.C. First Nations worried   
   about the harmful effects of a spill.   
      
   “For two adjacent provinces in the same country that are for the most   
   part in the same business — primary resource development — the   
   divergence of views between our two provinces is striking,” Smith told   
   the audience.   
      
   The B.C. Liberal government remains opposed to the Northern Gateway   
   project and has set out five conditions for the approval of an oil   
   pipeline through its jurisdiction. One of those conditions — that B.C.   
   receive its “fair share” of economic benefits, triggered a famously   
   frosty relationship between then-premier Alison Redford and B.C. Premier   
   Christy Clark.   
      
   The relationship improved and last fall both signed off on an   
   interprovincial working group report, putting forward 20 recommendations   
   to pave the way for an enhanced energy partnership between the two provinces   
      
   The deal also saw B.C. sign on to Redford’s Canadian Energy Strategy,   
   which, while short on details, had been described as an attempt to get   
   the provinces working together to develop resources and access new markets.   
      
   Energy Minister Diana McQueen said Alberta has long been working with   
   the provinces and federal government on a national strategy.   
      
   “It’s nice to see the Wildrose is finally showing up to the game, but   
   we’ve been doing a lot of work on this and ... are making very good   
   headway on these projects,” McQueen said in an interview.   
      
   A solution for the country’s market access needs won’t be “one size fits   
   all,” she said.   
      
   “It’s a lot of work that we’ve been continuing to do and we’re starting   
   to make very good headway with regards to how we as provinces and   
   territories showcase Canada as a global energy supplier and. support   
   each other.”   
      
   Smith noted her idea for a single corridor would require leadership from   
   federal government to negotiate with First Nations communities that may   
   have land claims over a potential route.   
      
   “The federal government would almost certainly have to do the heavy   
   lifting because the bulk of the negotiations would have to involve   
   agreement and buy in from our First Nations as a starting point,” she   
   said. “It would deal with river crossings and protecting environmentally   
   sensitive habitat. It would not be for the faint of heart or weak in   
   spirit.”   
      
   Any potential route would fall in areas least likely to evoke   
   opposition, Smith added.   
      
   “Nobody lives there? Perfect. That’s where it will go,” she said. “And   
   once it exists and is clearly defined, people who don’t want anything   
   industrial occurring in their neighbourhood ... would know where not to   
   live. Or if they want a good paying job, they would know exactly where   
   to move.”   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)