Trans Mountain pipeline supporters are hopeful that legal appeals of the project have come to an end.
This week, three judges on the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed four challenges by First Nations in British Columbia against twinning of the existing pipeline.
“Enough with the protests. Enough with delaying the project. We’ve gone through all the environmental standards we have to go through, plus a bunch more,” said Glen Carritt, who organized the United We Roll convoy that travelled to Parliament Hill last February in support of the energy industry.
“They need to just stop blockading and stop protesting and let it go through.”
He said the project means the difference between unemployment and employment for thousands of workers. Canadian energy products, said Carritt, need to get to tidewater, so they can be sold to countries other than the United States.
“If we can’t get our product out to the rest of the world, we’re going to continue to be unemployed.”
He said the impact of unemployment trickles down to local stores, restaurants, as well as charities, schools and hospitals.
“Oil and gas helps everything, not just the guys out on the rig.”
The need for oil and gas is not going away anytime soon. Canada’s industry must move forward, Carritt said.
“I’d rather use our own oil and gas than foreign oil.”
Related:
Alberta premier lauds Trudeau after latest Trans Mountain court ruling
Trudeau pledges to proceed with Trans Mountain pipeline
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government purchased the pipeline and related infrastructure in 2018.
Trans Mountain officially restarted construction on the project last August, with work underway at the Westridge Marine Terminal, Burnaby Terminal and at pump stations in Alberta.
Work included site preparation activities, in-water construction of new shipping berths, foreshore extension work and facility upgrades.
Construction of the pipeline began in the Edmonton area in December. It included about 50 kilometres of pipeline running from Trans Mountain’s Edmonton Terminal in Sherwood Park to Acheson, Alta.
As of September 2019, Trans Mountain and its contractors had hired more than 2,200 people for the pipeline project.
— with files from The Canadian Press
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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