On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced four government decisions: the approval of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion project; the approval of Enbridge Line 3 replacement; the dismissal of the Northern Gateway project; and the continued moratorium of tankers off the northern B.C. coast.
The approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project is the correct decision to make. It is, as Trudeau stated, based on science and evidence, not politics.
The Surrey Board of Trade is supportive of the development of 15,000 jobs, mostly in trade, and appreciate the stress on environmental protections such as the 157 binding conditions by the National Energy Board as well as the investments in the Ocean Protection Plan.
The Surrey Board of Trade has been an advocate of this infrastructure project. Moving crude oil by rail through suburbs has proved to be far more hazardous than using state-of-the art technology in pipelines.
The Surrey Board of Trade continues to encourage and support green technology and a reduction of carbon emissions as led by B.C.’s carbon tax and the federal government climate action plan. We do need to leave a better world for future generations. We do need to work hard to move green energy sources forward. But it won’t happen overnight.
We do need to be realistic in regards to the continued need for fossil fuels until such a time as a viable alternative can be developed that is both cost effective and sustainable.
The Surrey Board of Trade congratulates Kinder Morgan’s commitment to ensure that the proposed twinned pipeline will meet and exceed the most stringent conditions to get product to market in the safest possible way.
Anita Patil Huberman CEO
Surrey Board of Trade