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Red Deer city council united in support for pipeline construction

Jan 7, 2019 | 7:51 PM

Red Deer city council took a united stand Monday night in support of pipeline construction.

Members voted unanimously in support of a resolution to advocate to both the provincial and federal governments for not only pipelines, but economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and improved energy market access.

Red Deer joins councils in Calgary, Cold Lake and Bonnyville, all of which have recently passed similar resolutions.

Asked to pinpoint one thing preventing the building of pipelines, Mayor Tara Veer said it’s an issue of perspective.

“It’s very important to note that energy product is being moved across every jurisdiction in this country and energy is essential to all forms of economic diversification. Certainly all Canadians are direct and indirect beneficiaries of Alberta’s energy product,” Veer stated. “Under federalism, the government has a responsibility for safe domestic transport and so we are calling on our fellow Canadians and above all calling on the federal government in order to act in the interest of all Canadians.”

On the importance of not excluding economic diversification from the conversation, Councillor Dianne Wyntjes said that in hindsight, it would’ve been great to have built these pipelines when times were more prosperous.

“We are at a time in our Canadian history where I think we need to appeal to the rest of the provinces that this is about nation building, about thinking back to when the railroad was built, and what that did for Canada,” she said. “I encourage Québec to think about Lac-Mégantic and what a rolling train did in that city. Clearly, pipelines are the safest way to move our oil to market.”

Meanwhile, Councillor Vesna Higham was blunt about where she puts the blame for the current pipeline picture.

“I absolutely hold the federal government to account for the lack of leadership that they have shown on an issue that really has national impact. Under our constitution, the federal government has jurisdiction over certain things, and it’s very clear that matters where it’s interprovincial movement of goods and services, the federal government has jurisdiction,” Higham remarked.

“When the mayor of Montreal says ‘No dirty Alberta oil will pass through our jurisdiction’ and so much of the federal government’s vote is dependent on what happens in Québec, it’s pretty clear to me why the federal government is hesitating.”

Councillor Ken Johnston also chimed in, explaining how the system is plugged.

“It’s plugged from a bunch of different areas; it’s materially plugged in terms of the over-capacity of oil at this point in Alberta with no place to go, hence the curtailment in production,” he said. “It’s also plugged from a political perspective where you have provinces dictating the national interest, which is completely unacceptable, and I speak of British Columbia and Québec. And it’s plugged legislatively because we’ve completely over-regulated the industry.”

A number of councillors also made it clear that this is not the first time council has expressed its support for the oil and gas sector, and for pipeline construction.

In March 2016, council participated with AUMA to support the Energy East pipeline. In May 2018, council provided a letter of support alongside 166 other Alberta municipalities for improved energy market access.

Council has also provided letters to the Mid-sized Cities Mayors Caucus, and Mayor Veer addressed a Senate Standing Committee regarding energy market access.