Quebec Legislators Unanimously Demand a Say in Energy East’s Climate Impacts
A unanimous Quebec National Assembly resolution November 6, demanding a say in the climate impacts of the Energy East pipeline, has earned support from former provincial Cabinet minister Daniel Breton, and from the Alberta-based Pembina Institute.
The resolution, put forward by opposition MNA Sylvain Gaudreault, took the National Energy Board (NEB) to task for failing to address climate change in its assessment of the pipeline, and called on the provincial government to address the issue in its own public hearings. It also pointed to the Canadian government’s continuing failure to regulate carbon pollution from the country’s oil and gas sector.
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Breton, formerly Quebec’s sustainable development minister and now a Journal de Montréal blogger, said the NEB has acknowledged provincial jurisdiction in regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
The resolution “is effectively a vote of non-confidence in the National Energy Board’s review process for the pipeline,” said Pembina analyst Erin Flanagan. “Quebec’s elected representatives are adding their voices to a chorus of concern about this pipeline proposal and the environmental impacts of rapid oilsands expansion.”