OTTAWA – Two of the country’s premiers are in Ottawa to deliver the message that all of Canada will reap the rewards of moving Canadian energy to coastal ports in order to sell it to international markets.
New Brunswick Premier David Alward says “every province, every region, every community, every Canadian” will benefit from pipelines that would carry oil from western provinces to ocean ports.
Alward and his Saskatchewan colleague, Brad Wall, are urging provinces like Quebec and Ontario not to stand in the way of pipeline projects like Energy East.
Alward says Canadians will gain nothing collectively if provinces choose to act in their own narrow interests.
The pair made the comments at an event in Ottawa hosted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Wall says he supports the proposed pipeline projects regardless of whether they are carrying Saskatchewan energy because they reduce the discount at which Canada must currently sell its oil.
He says that amounts to a significant amount to Canadian coffers and benefits the domestic industry at large.
An energy powerhouse like Canada should be doing everything possible to find ways to move the energy to tidewater and to get the resources “working not just for today’s economy but for the economy of tomorrow,” Wall added.