Ecology Ottawa is opposing a proposed west-east oil pipeline that would see more than one million barrels of oil shipped through Ottawa and the Rideau River every day.
The Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. plans to convert an existing natural gas pipeline and build a new stretch of pipeline to transport oil from western to eastern Canada. The Energy East Pipeline, which still needs regulatory approval, is anticipated to begin deliveries to Quebec by 2017 and deliveries to New Brunswick by 2018.
“This is an historic opportunity to connect the oil resources of Western Canada to the consumers of Eastern Canada, creating jobs, tax revenue and energy security for all Canadians for decades to come,” TransCanada president Russ Girling said in a news release.
The pipeline will be used to transport resources from Alberta’s oil sands – or “tar sands,” a plan that worries Ecology Ottawa. The not-for-profit group describes the proposed venture as “all risk and no reward for the resident of Ottawa.”
Tar sands oil is thicker, more toxic and possibly more acidic than light crude oil, which makes it prone to spills. This heavy form of oil also makes cleanup difficult as it sinks in water.
Girling said the Energy East project “will be designed and operated with a singular focus on safety” and oil resources will be “transported safely and reliably.”
Ecology Ottawa says the explosion of an oil train in Lac-Mégantic, Que. highlights the “risks of shipping oil near people’s houses and sensitive ecosystems.” Though that oil was not transported by pipeline, the group says that, over the past 20 years, Canada has seen an average of more than 100 pipeline spills per year, while the U.S. counts about 250 on average.
In 2010, a rupture of a 40-year-old pipeline in Michigan flooded the Kalamazoo River with about 3.8 million litres of tar sands oil.
The Energy East project would “threaten the sensitive ecosystem of the Rideau River,” says the group, “which flows into the Ottawa River, with a major spill,” and could damage the farmlands and ecosystems surrounding the city.
The group “had never planned on fighting a tar sands pipeline,” said executive director Graham Saul at an Ecology Ottawa meeting on Tuesday.
But the group has already garnered nearly 2,000 signatures on a petition to halt the project and has several other campaigns underway. It is also pushing its supporters to let their representatives know that they oppose the project.
In the recent Ottawa South by-election, Liberal candidate John Fraser and the provincial Green Party rejected the pipeline.
Still, Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi and NDP MP Paul Dewar have not addressed the issue, but Saul is trying to reach out to them. “There’s no good reason for them not to be opposing this pipeline,” Saul said in an interview.
Many supporters attended Ecology Ottawa’s meeting at the Sandy Hill Community Centre, which Saul said shows the community’s concern about the pipeline.
Ecology Ottawa’s upcoming events to oppose the project include information sessions, a rally and a benefit concert to raise funds for the campaign.
“Right now, what we’re really trying to do is find our friends,” he said. “We’re saying if you’re out there and you care about this problem, contact us, join us, and we’re going to build momentum to demand of our elected leaders that they represent us on this issue. We’re already starting to see that bare fruit, but it’s going to be a long haul and we’re just getting started.”