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/ Opinion / Editorial /

Keep foreign interests out of Gateway decision

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Why is that Americans always have to stick their noses in everyone else’s business? It’s nothing new, of course. They do it all the time, even to the point of overthrowing governments and starting wars.

So it’s no surprise that many of the opponents registered to voice their opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline project in hearings that began this week are Americans. There’s the hard-core San Francisco group Forest Ethics that feels it knows more about what’s good for Canada’s national interest than Canadians ourselves.

Americans always seem to know what’s better for every country in the world that has something they want, usually oil, than the countries themselves.

Even those U.S. groups that aren’t coming north — perhaps it’s too cold or they don’t know where British Columbia is located — are getting involved by financing Canadian environmental groups opposed to the pipeline.

Then there are the Hollywood stars, too rich, too bored, with too much time on their hands. Guys like Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio, directors of the Natural Resources Defence Council that just used its star power and vast financial resources to delay, perhaps even kill, the Keystone XL pipeline. And that’s fine. That was running through U.S. states, to U.S. refineries and if the Americans are so naive they think that sabotaging ways of getting Canadian oil to their markets is beneficial, well that’s their decision. It’s their country.

But this is Canada and the Gateway decision, whichever way it goes, should be Canadian-made. Americans, or any other foreigners, should not be allowed to intervene in any hearings. It’s none of their business.

Nor should Canadian groups, whether they’re for or against the project, be allowed to be financed and influenced by foreigners. The Gateway decision will have a huge impact on Albertans, British Columbians and most Canadians. It’s a $5.5 billion twin pipeline by Enbridge that would move 500,000 barrels of crude oil from Alberta to the B.C. coast and on to Asia. Canada needs the Asian market. We’ve been dependent on the Americans for far too long and it’s time to loosen that string.

Enbridge says the project would add about $270 billion to the Canadian gross domestic product and create about 1,150 full-time jobs in Alberta and B.C. It would be a monstrous economic boost.

But it comes with a significant risk as well. Pipelines can leak and can create environmental disasters and we should never forget that. The Gateway would cross more than 700 streams and that is a significant danger. On the other hand, there are already dozens upon dozens of pipelines crossing hundreds of B.C. streams and rivers without any incidents.

So yes, there will be arguments, some legitimate and some just totally outrageous, among the more than 4,300 people who have registered to address the Gateway hearings. But those arguments should be made by Canadians and Canadians only. We will be the ones to enjoy the benefits or suffer the consequences. So it should be our decision and ours alone. Hypocritical Hollywood celebs, with their fuel-guzzling private jets and monstrous yachts, and self-serving American financial interests should stay out of it.