Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says Quebec’s decision to seek an injunction against the Energy East pipeline is “divisive” and pits eastern Canadians against the interests of Westerners.
“Enough is enough. Saskatchewan and Western Canada also has to protect it’s own interest and send some strong messages if that’s what the province of Quebec is doing,” Wall told reporters at a news conference in Edam, Sask.
Quebec’s Environment Minister David Heurtel announced Tuesday that his government plans to seek a court injunction to ensure the Energy East pipeline project is subject to the province’s environmental regulations.
Heurtel said TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. must demonstrate that the portion of the pipeline snaking through Quebec meets his province’s environmental laws.
“In Quebec, companies know that if they want to develop major projects such as this one, they have to submit to an environmental impact assessment, and TransCanada has so far refused to comply,” he told a news conference.
Wall has long championed the Energy East pipeline, which would ship Western crude to refineries in Eastern Canada and on to global markets.
On Tuesday, he shot back at Quebec and said no province should have the standing necessary to stop the pipeline. The premier said the National Energy Board, the pipeline’s federal regulator, already has strict and thorough environmental guidelines.
“These developments are disappointing. We are going to continue to fight for the sector; we are going to continue to fight for Saskatchewan jobs,” he said.
Wall said he has asked officials to report to him on what options they have from “a trade perspective,” but would not go into detail.
He said the different regions of the country have always come together to help when certain sectors of the economy are in trouble, and the Quebec decision is “forgetting what is best about Canada.”
One example, he said, is national support for the aerospace sector in Quebec. Bombardier Inc., which is currently seeking a $1-billion bailout, has received $1.3 billion in repayable contributions since 1966 and had repaid $543 million as of Dec. 31, 2014.
Wall said Quebec’s decision is dividing the country geographically, even if it’s unintentional.

“I think it is going to be divisive,” Wall said.

I think it is going to be divisive
The pipeline would carry 1.1 million barrels a day of western crude as far east as Saint John, N.B., serving domestic refineries and international customers.
The project has run into stiff opposition in Quebec, where the mayors of Montreal and surrounding municipalities argue the environmental risks outweigh the economic rewards.
A coalition of environmental groups has also vowed to fight the pipeline on the same grounds.
Heurtel moved to defuse any potential backlash from Western Canada against the motion for the injunction.
“This is not directed at any province or region,” he argued. “This is about one company that wants to do a project in Quebec which, in our opinion, is not respecting Quebec law.”
Heurtel said TransCanada was advised in letters in November and December 2014 that the Quebec segment of its $15.7-billion project was subject to the province’s environmental regulations.
He said the decision to engage in legal action does not mean the province has made a final decision on Energy East.
“Quebec in no way with this announcement today is saying it’s for or against the project,” he said. “We just want our laws to be respected.”
Quebec’s environmental regulation agency is set to begin hearings on Energy East on March 7.