My submission to OEB, re: Energy East Pipeline | Unpublished
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James OGrady's picture
Ottawa, Ontario
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I am the founder of Unpublished Media Inc., a company I started in 2012. I am also a communications professional and community activist, living in Nepean, Ontario. And, I am a hockey goaltender, political hack and most importantly, an advocate for grassroots, participatory democracy at all levels of government.

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My submission to OEB, re: Energy East Pipeline

April 23, 2014

The following letter is my submission to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) regarding the Energy East pipeline. If you would like to submit your own feedback on this proposed project, which will traverse the Rideau River, please visit: http://bit.ly/1k7nCwn

My main concern with the Energy East pipeline is with the quality of the product being transported. Whether transported through a pipeline or by rail, however the bitumen is transported, it poses too great a pollution and contamination risk for Ontarians to bear since this chemical sludge is not intended to supply the Ontario marketplace.

Because Ontario is simply space to be traversed, I believe it is imperative for the Ontario government to ensure the on-going health and safety of its residents by implementing strict regulations as to WHAT kind of fuels can be transported through Ontario and HOW they should be transported.

No one in Ontario wants another Lac Megantic, nor another bitumen spill like that which happened  in 2010 in the Kalamazoo River, Michigan. The Enbridge pipeline spill into the Kalamazoo River has already cost more than a $1 Billion to clean up. We do not need such a disaster in our beautiful province. Not in our lakes and rivers and definately not in the Rideau watershed, which feeds into our Nation's capital, my home town of Ottawa.

If this pipeline is to be built, which I currently oppose, Ontario must insist that the product shipped through it is as safe as possible and that ALL costs associated with any spill will be covered 100% by TransCanada. I would also like to see additional fines implemented for spills which will amount to a ‘breach of contract’ if TransCanada’s marketing propaganda is to be believed.

Your job, as I see it, is to ensure Ontarians are protected at all times from the harmful effects of dangerous, hazardous and toxic fuels being transported through our province. The best way for you to ensure that happens with the Energy East pipeline is to mandate that only REFINED FUELS can be transported through Ontario, whether it be through a pipeline or by rail.