CHARLOTTETOWN – New Brunswick’s premier says he’s hopeful that U.S. President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline will give added impetus to an east-west pipeline that flows to his province.
The lengthy saga of the Keystone pipeline ended Friday when Obama called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to break the news.
The U.S. president said the pipeline had become an important symbol — and rejecting it proved the U.S. intends to get serious at the upcoming climate summit in Paris.
Premier Brian Gallant, speaking at the Maritime premiers conference in Charlottetown, said the possibility of the Energy East pipeline from Alberta to New Brunswick remains open.
He said the project would create thousands of jobs across the country, and help an oil industry that must find a way to get its product to market.
“It can be done safely. It can be done in a way that we respect the environment, and it can certainly be done in a way that we will be able to create jobs and economic growth throughout the country, including New Brunswick,” he said.