If the Northern Gateway approval is about supporting the Canadian economy, the public in this country are being hoodwinked.
The overall job story is that energy efficiency and renewable energy will provide more and higher paying jobs, with more diverse opportunities.
This is because $1 million dollars worth of oil and natural gas output directly creates 0.8 jobs, and $1 million invested in coal produces 1.9 jobs.
Compare that to building retrofits for energy efficiency (seven jobs per million), mass transit services (11 jobs), building the smart grid (4.3), wind (4.6), solar (5.4), and biomass power generation (7.4).
The added benefit is that almost all of these jobs will take place in local communities instead of forcing workers to leave their families and homes to live in remote work camps with all the attendant social problems they cause.
Finally, jobs created in energy efficiency, mass transit, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and smart grid development will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offer a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.
We have a planet to save. Scientists like Victoria’s own Dr. Andrew Weaver are telling us we need to move quickly toward an economy less reliant on fossil fuels.
Pipelines like the Enbridge Northern Gateway are not on the zero carbon economy map.
Michael Jessen
Nelson