The Northern Gateway Pipeline is a proposed twin pipeline that would move bitumen from oil sands in Alberta into BC and finally out to Asian markets. There are pros and cons in facilitating the development of a pipeline worth seven billion dollars. The project will create job opportunities, which will ultimately boost Canada’s GDP over the next thirty years. However, the project comes at the expense of the environment.
Business ethics refers to doing whatever is in the best interest of a company while meeting societal expectations. Jim Prentice, Alberta’s soon-to-be premier, is currently taking steps on behalf of Enbridge in negotiating with First Nations. The development of the pipeline raises many ethical issues; is the spontaneous boost in GDP through jobs and future profits worth permanently risking the wellbeing of our environment? Any pipe leak of sorts will have a detrimental affect on the environment, economy, and society. The pipeline runs through the hearts of many other industries such as fishing and forestry. In addition, society does not have the tools to negotiate with oil spills of diluted bitumen. There are winners and losers at hand; something that is genuinely ethical should be beneficial for the whole of society.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/pipeline-primer-what-you-need-to-know-about-northern-gateway-1.1872482#
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/industry-first-nations-share-northern-gateway-pipeline-ally-in-prentice/article20501547/
