Duplicates: THE SAULT STAR (FINAL), NEWS, Page: A7; THE NORTH BAY NUGGET (FINAL), NEWS, Page: A5; THE BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER (FINAL), NEWS, Page: A5; THE SUDBURY STAR (FINAL), NEWS, Page: A6; THE KINGSTON WHIG-STANDARD (FINAL), NEWS, Page: 9; THE OTTAWA SUN (FINAL), NEWS, Page: 8; THE LONDON FREE PRESS (FINAL), NEWS, Page: B3; THE EDMONTON SUN (FINAL), NEWS, Page: 22; THE CALGARY SUN (FINAL), NEWS, Page: 26
OTTAWA-- Building pipelines and getting Canada's oil to more and different markets -- including right here in Canada -- is a top priority for the federal government.
And the official opposition could get on board with some of the government's plans, if it's done responsibly.
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told a luncheon crowd in Sarnia, Ont., Thursday Canada is poised to become an energy superpower in the coming decades, so long as its resources aren't "stranded."
"Canadian crude oil production can double by 2030, but without the infrastructure to move our product to new markets, our oil will be stranded," Oliver told the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce. "New pipeline capacity is critical to move Canada's growing production to tidewater to access foreign markets."
The government is also keen to see Alberta oil refined in Canada and Oliver said West-East pipelines that could ultimately ship more than one million barrels of crude per day from the oilsands to refineries in Quebec and the Maritimes are just as important.
The NDP, which opposes the Keystone XL pipeline and the Northern Gateway project are on board with moving the oil east.
But the party's energy and natural resources critic, Peter Julian, said only if the government beefs up current regulatory standards.
"There's no doubt that moving oil west to east can be a win-win," he said in an e-mail to QMI Agency, adding the Conservatives have "gutted" environmental assessments and "shut out criticism," making it more difficult to support such large projects.
"New Democrats have been clear that moving Western Canadian oil east makes good economic sense, if environmental and public concerns are satisfied during a thorough review, and if pipeline safety is substantially improved," he said. ILLUS: photo of Joe Oliver
NDP Critic for Canadian Heritage Peter Julian issued the following statement:
"It has come to our attention that a consultant for a federally funded anti-racism project has a disturbing track record of spewing hate speech online against Jewish and francophone communities. This is completely unacceptable. We call on the Minister of Heritage to take drastic action and terminate his contract.
NDP Heritage Critic Peter Julian issued the following statement:
“Today’s announcement by Hockey Canada is another attempt to delay the important and urgent work to deal with the toxic culture in this organization. While a former Supreme Court Justice is a credible appointment to conduct the review into Hockey Canada, this won’t be the first time the organization undergoes this process.
NDP critic for Canadian Heritage, Peter Julian, made the following statement:
“Canadians are horrified by the incidents of sexual assault and by what they’re hearing from Hockey Canada. They are left with many questions about how this toxic culture is allowed to persist in our sports organizations and what the government is actually doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again.