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Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner is pushing Premier Wynne to take a firm stance against Enbridge’s Line 9B oil pipeline proposal.
“The Premier is failing to protect the people and places we love by not speaking out against Enbridge’s Line 9 proposal,” says Schreiner. “At the very minimum Ontario should require a full Environmental Assessment for Line 9B.”
Over 600 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 dirty oil and a mix of toxic chemicals,” says Schreiner. “The provincial government has a responsibility to protect Ontario’s water, environment, economy and communities. The Premier must speak out in favour of our province — and against Line 9.”
The Green Party is particularly concerned with Enbridge’s proposal to ship diluted bitumen (dilbit) through a 38-year-old pipeline not designed to handle it. Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner has raised alarms about the challenges of cleaning up dilbit spills. And many municipalities, including the city of Toronto, have called Enbridge’s 9B emergency plans “pretty slim.”
U.S. studies show that pipelines shipping dilbit are more likely to spill because it is more corrosive than conventional crude. Tarsands 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.
“Cleaning up dilbit spills will be costly to our environment, to our economy and our health,” says Schreiner. “The Premier needs to stand with First Nations, municipalities, community and environmental groups ringing alarm bells over Line 9.”