Premier must act to protect our economy and environment from oil spills

(Queen’s Park): Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner is pushing Premier Wynne to take a firm stance against Enbridge’s Line 9B oil pipeline.

 

“The Premier is failing to protect the people and places we love by not speaking out against Line 9,” says Schreiner. “Enbridge’s Line 9 risks our economy and our environment with no benefits for Ontario.”

 

Over 570 Green Party supporters have sent the Premier a letter asking her to say no to Enbridge’s Line 9B proposal, which is currently before the National Energy Board for approval.

 

“Line 9 threatens our health, safety and environment with a mix of toxic chemicals,” says Schreiner. “Cleaning up dilbit spills will be costly to our environment, to our economy and our health.There are no clear economic benefits of this proposal to Ontario.”

 

The Green Party is particularly concerned with Enbridge’s proposal to ship dilbit--raw tar sands bitumen mixed with chemicals--through a 38-year-old pipeline not designed to handle such corrosive material. Enbridge’s Line 9 runs between Sarnia and Montreal under every major river in Southern Ontario, prime farmland, sensitive ecosystems and populated urban areas.

 

U.S. studies show that pipelines shipping dilbit are more likely to spill because it is more corrosive than conventional crude. Tar sands oil is also harder and more expensive to clean up. Clean up of the Enbridge Line 6B dilbit spill in Michigan is still not complete after three years and over $1 billion in cost.

 

“The provincial government has a responsibility to protect Ontario’s water, environment, economy and communities,” says Schreiner. “The Premier needs to fulfill these responsibilities. We are calling on her to say no to the Line 9B proposal.”