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On November 29, Canada's mega-oil pipeline company, Enbridge, officially asked the National Energy Board (NEB) for permission to reverse the flow, increase the capacity, and transport heavy crude in the section of its Line 9 pipeline that extends from North Westover, Ontario to Montreal. This would open the door to bringing heavy crude from Alberta's tar sands to New England and other foreign markets via Ontario and Quebec – a project formerly known as "Trailbreaker."
Citizens and environmental groups are calling on the NEB to review the full scope of this plan, which would extend the reach of Alberta's tar sands.
For many years now, groups such as Equiterre, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council have argued that Enbridge intends to route tar sands crude through Montreal in order to export it to the United States and overseas. The NEB has already approved reversal of the section of Line 9 between Sarnia, Ontario and North Westover. Now Enbridge is asking the NEB to approve the last leg of the path to Montreal. Next up, will likely be the Portland-Montreal pipeline, which connects Montreal with Portland, Maine.
"We believe that the whole of Quebec's population should mobilize against this project. Enbridge has a pitiful track record when it comes to pipeline safety, and is responsible for the biggest oil spill on North American soil in 2010 in Michigan," declared Steven Guilbeault of Equiterre.
