麻豆视频

Nobody should have been surprised when TransCanada decided to pull the plug on the Energy East Pipeline.

The last straw came when the National Energy Board announced changes to how it will evaluate carbon footprints on pipelines.

If it would have been approved, Energy East would have transported oil from Western Canada to Atlantic Canada.

There were other factors for Energy East鈥檚 demise. It wasn鈥檛 just the NEB鈥檚 decision. There was the contentious start for the hearing process, the approval of other pipelines and the price of oil. (The price of oil isn鈥檛 as much of a factor for Energy East, though. TransCanada waited through three years of depressed oil prices before closing the book on the pipeline).

So we shouldn鈥檛 be surprised. But we have every reason to be disappointed and even angry, not just at the demise of Energy East, but the reactions of some in Eastern Canada, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre was likely the most prominent Quebec politician celebrating Energy East鈥檚 demise. He said he was proud of the role he and other mayors played in getting the project scrapped.

It seems that Coderre and other Energy East critics would rather see Eastern Canada receive its oil from nations such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. You never hear a peep from them about importing oil.

Perhaps somebody should have reminded them that if Energy East would have proceeded, Quebec could have received even more money off the backs of Western Canada through equalization.

As for Trudeau, let鈥檚 remember that this is the prime minister who gave the green light for Enbridge鈥檚 Line 3 project to proceed, and for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline to also move forward.

When TransCanada scrapped Energy East, it saved him a very tough decision of whether to allow a pipeline project to move forward.

Make the right move and allow Energy East to proceed, even though many of his supporters opposed it? Or capitulate to those supporters and block the pipeline, even though it made perfect sense?

Decisions, decisions.

But the PM鈥檚 statement that criticism of his decision only served to stoke national divisions made him sound like someone who has a serious problem with people who disagree with him.

For a guy who is supposed to be a bridge builder, who has done a great job of handling U.S. President Donald Trump, his comments were surprising.

And he only fuelled those national divisions.

Energy East should have been allowed to proceed. It would have made a significant economic impact with the jobs it would have created, not only during construction, but once it would have opened.

And it would have meant another option for oil to get to market, allowing oil companies to get the price they need for oil.

The demise of Energy East is an opportunity lost.

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