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Nixon: It’s time to retire the myth of social license

MLA Jason Nixon’s column
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As the rhetoric heats up over the Trans Mountain pipeline, one thing is abundantly clear: so called “social license” is a myth.

The NDP claim that a carbon tax was necessary to grant the “social license” necessary for pipelines to be built. Two years later, and we have nothing to show for it, save for less money in the pockets of hard-working Alberta families. Now, we have a tanker ban on the Northern BC coastline, the Northern Gateway project is dead, the Energy East project is dead, and a BC NDP government continues its strategy of “death by delay” for the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The anti-oil crusaders opposing the federally-approved Trans Mountain pipeline are not interested in facts, nor are they swayed by a carbon tax. They have shown utter disregard for the rule of law in Canada, and they have appear to not care for projects in the national interest. To them, a “social license” has as much worth as a wooden nickel.

Just ask the myriad of special interests like Environmental Defence Canada, World Wildlife Fund Canada, ForestEthics Canada, and Greenpeace, that eagerly accepted funding from US-based foundations in their campaign to “land-lock” Canada’s oilsands.

Just ask Canadian politicians like former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, who celebrated the cancellation of the Energy East pipeline.

Just ask the Alberta NDP’s hand-picked former oilsands advisor Tzeporah Berman, who all but begs her fellow activists to take illegal action on Trans Mountain, stating, “Conflict is messy and unpleasant but looking necessary.”

No carbon tax, no level of environmental monitoring, and no amount of science-based regulation can ever persuade these people. Instead, let’s retire the myth of social license once and for all, and get back to making the common sense argument for modern infrastructure. The fact is, pipelines are proven to be the most efficient, safest, and most environmentally sound way to transport oil.

New pipelines greatly reduce the risk of contamination, and their construction creates both short-term and long-term economic growth, providing governments with billions in revenue for valuable public services. New pipelines would allow Canadian refineries to process Canadian oil, making our country and our world less reliant on supplies from jurisdictions where freedom and human rights are virtually nonexistent.

These are the logical arguments, based on hard facts that appeal to real people.

With facts like these, why are we relying on failed myths?

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