Canadian Conservatives Silence Opposition to the Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline

Canada's ruling Conservatives have passed legislation to silence dissenting voices on the Northern Gateway oil pipeline and other environmental review processes. The Conservatives have made no secret of the fact that they want to quell dissent on environmental issues.

These changes to environmental reviews are part of a sweeping budget bill that will restrict who can appear before regulatory panels. This move will effectively prevent many of those who are opposed to the pipeline from sharing their concerns like experts from environmental organizations.

These new rules will also prevent many of the more than 4,000 private citizens who registered to comment from being heard at hearings into Enbridge Inc’s controversial Northern Gateway pipeline. Many oppose the pipeline because it will foster more oil sands development and increase carbon emissions.

The pipeline project is intended to move tar sands oil to Canada's Pacific Coast. Both the coast and the land the pipeline will traverse are highly sensitive areas.

The legislation will restrict thousands who have signed up to give 10-minute oral presentations and those who are allowed to participate will be prevented from cross-examining Enbridge, the company building the pipeline.

Rather than give interested parties 10 minutes to speak, hours will be wasted on hearings to determine whether they have the right to speak.

In the province of Alberta, home of the environmentally destructive tar-sands, regulators already restrict hearings. The federal government appears to be following Alberta's lead.

The legislation will expedite the review process and provide the rubber stamp that the Conservatives are looking for. The federal government is undermining the country’s environmental review process. This is the fulfillment of the Harper government's ambition to gut environmental law.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Canadian Conservatives Admit to Killing Environmental Dissent
Report: Canadian Government is Not Helping Business Prepare for Climate Change
Report: Canadian Businesses are Unprepared for Climate Change
Canadian Government Spending on Dirty Projects
The Farce of Canada's Carbon Capture
Canada's GHG Rankings
Canada's Ruling Conservatives Muzzle Scientists
Conservative Budget Guts the Environment 
Conservatives Cut Budgets and Slash Jobs at Environment Canada
Canadian Conservatives Slash Environmental Assessment
Canadian Conservatives Slash NRC Budget
Canada on Track to be a Dirty Energy Superpower
Canadian Federal Provincial Energy Conference on Resource Exploitation
Federal Provincial Energy Conference Sponsored by Big Oil
American Protests Against the Tar Sands Oil Pipeline
Canadian Conservatives Dirty Priorities
Canadian Conservatives Disregard for Canada's Environment
Canada is a World Leader in GHG Emissions
WWF's Canadian Living Planet Report
The State of Canada's Environment
Video: The Alberta Tar Sands Dirty Oil
Canadian Global Warming Denial from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Canadians Support Efforts to Combat Climate Change
Canadian Government at Odds with the Public on Climate Change
Conservatives Ignore Canadians While Jeopardizing the Environment and the Economy
Canadian Conservative Government Rejects Kyoto
Canada's Government Opposes Kyoto and Hampers Progress at COP16
World Urges Canada to Do More to Manage Climate Change
Why Canadian Environment Minister Resigned
The Impact of a Climate Change Deal on Canada
A Made in Canada Sustainable World Order
SHARE

Melili

  • Image
  • Image
  • Image
  • Image
  • Image
    Blogger Comment
    Facebook Comment

0 comments:

Post a Comment