Editor:
In response to “Pipeline project faces hurdles” published on July 3, I am from here, and like other British Columbians, I care about our environment, our health and our economy.
As I stated before, in order to ensure we maintain and improve our forests and marine quality, our government already creates higher standards than anyone else in the world on so many items: tankers, marine safety and now pipeline safety. Our government made potential environmental offenders more liable, proactive on safety and responsible for assuring we are protected.
I previously stated that not having the pipeline would be an annual loss of $27 billion. I need to correct the statement, as the pipeline would bring an incremental government revenue of $27 billion between 2016 and 2030 for all levels of government (University of Calgary). The total economic benefit (GDP increase) to the country for those years is estimated to be $131 billion. Our government approved Northern Gateway because an independent panel of experts said it’s safe for the environment and because it supports the goal of market diversification, in order to increase exports, get full value for our exports, create jobs and economic opportunities and fund services Canadians rely on.
John Weston, MP, West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country
