Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Over To You, Christy Clark

 "Under the Enbridge proposal, British Columbia would assume almost all the [Northern Gateway] project’s risk, yet would see only a fraction of the benefits," said Dix in a release. "By any measure, such a high-risk, low-return approach simply isn't in B.C.’s interests."

It looks, incidentally, as though the federal government's new environmental review legislation won't effect the timing of the NEB hearings re Northern Gateway,  though there was some previous speculation that it might.  One possible reason for the gov's apparent back-down is that the optics looked horrible.  Another is that, if you are going to enter into a court fight with various First Nations over your duty to consult before building, cutting short their ability to speak to the issue won't help your case.  A third is that so far B.C. Premier Christy Clark has been able to use the process as a means of fudging her position on the process, and any changes that brought the hearings to a close before next year's election would have smoked her out.

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