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You may have already heard that a coalition of environmental groups recently won a temporary injunction suspending exploratory drilling by TransCanada in critical beluga whale habitat in the St. Lawrence River near Cacouna, Quebec. During the proceedings at the Quebec Superior Court, it was revealed that the government of Quebec had authorized the drilling even though it had requested, but not yet received scientific data on the status of the whales.
It's important that the Environment Minister make an informed decision about the risk drilling poses to the belugas and to the environment.
Did you know that protecting beluga habitat in the St. Lawrence and fighting TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline are part of the same struggle? The drilling TransCanada was doing was to find a location for an oil port as part of its Energy East pipeline project.
At 4400 km in length, the Energy East pipeline woud transport up to 1.1 million barrels of oil a day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Saint John, New Brunswick, including heavy crude from the tar sands. The port in Cacouna would serve to export this highly polluting form of oil to foreign markets. The Port of Sorel already began to transport this heavy crude this September.
The tar sands are one of the fastest growing sources of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. Tar sands production in Alberta is expected to triple by 2030, causing a 250% increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Without a pipeline to get the product to foreign markets, the industry will be forced to reduce its production of this dirty oil.
Stopping pipelines means preventing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting natural habitats like the beluga nursery near Cacouna, Quebec.
Sign the No to tar sands petition to let Premier Philippe Couillard know that this is a major issue for Quebecers.
