Disappointment, that’s how premier Brian Gallant described today’s decision by TransCanada, not to proceed with the Energy East pipeline.
In a statement, he says, “TransCanada deciding not to proceed with its application is not good news for those who wanted to see the Energy East pipeline built – and your provincial government falls firmly in that camp. Like many New Brunswickers, we are disappointed. The project would have created jobs in New Brunswick and helped the Canadian economy.”
But he adds they will continue to look for other export markets for energy, “We are going to continue to look for other export markets for energy, which would allow us to increase our generation, and we are going to keep an eye on world market conditions. We firmly believe that if there is going to be an export facility for oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the east coast of our country that is going to be developed over the next few years, New Brunswick is the place to make it happen.”
Gallant also assured New Brunswickers that the economic benefits of the pipeline project have never been added to the economic and fiscal projections. Even without it, he says, the province still has the strongest economic growth in a decade, and they are still on track to balance the budget by 2020.
