Enbridge is planning to build what will be called the Northgate Pipeline. This oil pipeline will run from Alberta to Kitimat in BC, passing through vast expanse of nature.
There is a risk of the line rupturing and causing a natural disaster, ruining the natural environment of BC. Numerous organizations as well as residents of BC have been protesting against this new pipeline installment. These people believe that it is ethically wrong to put nature in subject to a potential disaster. However, the opposition argues that although the pipeline will be in BC, the oil inside it actually belongs to Alberta, and therefore, they hold the authority to build it. Meanwhile, the governments of the two states are currently having a dispute over the percentage of tax that will go to BC. Currently, BC is only expecting to receive 8.2% of the tax revenue.
Although many would argue against the establishment of the pipeline, I do not believe that this is ethically wrong. The new oil would create new jobs, contributing to the development of the economy in BC. Enbridge announced that they would be investing another $500 million in safety improvements, which should show that the company understands the implications that an oil spill might cause, and are taking measure to prevent it.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Pipeline+fuels+Alberta+clash+expert+says+target+should+Enbridge/6984078/story.html
Sorry, but your summation about economic benefits is incorrect. Organised labour – USA and Canada – both assert that mega-projects like the proposed Northern Gateway take away more jobs than they create. The so-called economic spinoffs of actual pipeline construction are mostly smoke-and-mirrors – very debatable at best. And the N.G. project is all about expanding Tar Sands extraction capacity by 30% – a development that is already causing substantial unemployment in manufacturing and other job sectors in Canada (conformed by Industry Canada statistics). The Pembina Institute calls it Canada’s own version of Dutch Disease.
And money isn’t even the bottom line to Aboriginal and B.C. citizens opposed to the project, in any event. It’s the harm to the ecology that you’ve touched upon – harm that is inevitable when the oil industry is involved (and even more so when its a company with a track record like Enbridge).
(sorry, “confirmed” not confirmed… :o)