He said he will respect the regulatory process that Enbridge Inc. must go through to get approval for its $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline, but said the project, if approved by the National Energy Board, shouldn't be held hostage by aboriginal and environmental groups threatening to create a human "wall" to prevent construction.
"Look, this is a country that lives by the rule of law, and I would hope that that would be the standard going forward," Oliver said.
A coalition of aboriginal groups said last week it will create a human wall to prevent the pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast from going ahead, and environmental groups have hinted at civil disobedience.
Even Rafe Mair, a former B.C. Social Credit cabinet minister and ex-broadcaster, has promised he'll stand before an Enbridge bulldozer if that's what it takes to stop a project he views as environmentally dangerous.
But Oliver, a bilingual ex-Bay Street investment banker who was vaulted into cabinet this year despite his rookie status, suggested the government won't be pushed around.
"We can't let unlawful people oppose lawful development."
Oliver, asked Tuesday if Northern Gateway "has to happen," stressed he can't comment specifically on the project since it's now before the National Energy Board panel review.
He noted that another company, Kinder Morgan, is considering a major expansion of its pipeline system from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C.
But he did stress that a diversification of Canada's markets to Asia, in the wake of TransCanada Corp.'s failure to get quick approval for the Keystone XL pipeline project in the U.S., is "fundamental" to Canada's national interest.
"We believe that we have to have access to Asian markets for our energy products, for our oil and gas," he said. "That is clearly in our national interest. We'll survive without it, but not nearly in the same way."
He said "tens of millions" of dollars in tax revenues generated by finding new markets for the expanding oilsands sector fund key social programs like health care and education.
"It's nation-building, without exaggeration."
Some critics have said Northern Gateway's greatest challenge is the imbalance between those standing to benefit and those facing the greatest environmental risk.
Enbridge shareholders, the Alberta treasury and some First Nations that strike deals along the pipeline route are among the top potential beneficiaries.
People in B.C. who would get minimal or no benefit are among those facing a huge risk if there were a disastrous pipeline leak or tanker spill, critics say.
Oliver was asked about the Haida First Nation in Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, in northern B.C.
The Haida, who are too far away from the pipeline to be considered by Enbridge as a potential equity partner in the project, are vehement opponents. Like many First Nations, they've expressed fear of the potential danger of a tanker spill on key sectors like fisheries and ecotourism.
"I think there have to be ways to make it in their interest," he said. "And there has to also be a convincing and factually correct story about safety. The pipelines themselves are the safest form of transportation, technology is improving the safety of tankers, double hulls and all this sort of thing, and the regulators of course are going to be looking at that, to make sure we're dealing with the highest available forms of technology, to make sure this is as safe as possible."
Oliver said he's concerned about the environmentalist movement's opposition, but in particular the significant role played by U.S. charitable foundations in funding the anti-oilsands campaign.
He wouldn't comment on the argument heard in the oilpatch that American money is being driven by broader interests fearful of the U.S. losing its virtual monopoly on the landlocked oilsands resource.
"I'm not into conspiracy theories."
Origin
Source: Vancuver Sun
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