Ontario's NDP are calling for a full provincial environmental assessment of the Line 9 pipeline. NDP Environment critic MPP Jonah Schein claims the pipeline poses significant and serious environmental and health concerns.

Approval for this pipeline, however, falls under federal jurisdiction, since it crosses the Ontario-Quebec border. The ultimate decision will be made by the National Energy Board (NEB) after it conducts public hearings and issues a decision this summer. There is simply no reason for the provincial government to waste more money on a redundant environmental assessment that falls outside of its jurisdiction.

Instead of rash decison-making and opposing anything related to Canada's oilsands, the NDP and Ontario's Environment Ministry should look at the facts about Line 9 and consider the economic benefits it will create for our province and country.

This pipeline has been in place for almost four decades. Enbridge's plan is merely to reverse the direction of flow in the pipeline, to carry western Canadian crude oil east to refineries in Quebec. In 1976, the pipeline was built to supply Ontario and Quebec with secure sources of Canadian crude oil from the prairie provinces. In 1998, the line was reversed to bring cheap foreign oil from West Africa and the Middle East to our refineries. This crude oil is shipped across the Atlantic via heavy tanker ships, and then sent to Montreal through another pipeline.

The line reversal will allow more Canadian oil to reach Canadian refineries. This is good for Canada, and good for consumers given that western Canadian crude oil is currently priced at $25/barrell less than foriegn-sourced crude oil. Part of the line -- Line 9A -- has already been reversed, allowing Canadian oil to flow from Sarnia west to the North Westover Station north of Hamilton.

The project makes use of an existing pipeline and takes place within an exisiting right-of-way passage. It requires no new land acquisition and no new pipes; it merely requires some engineering to reverse the direction of oil flow. Special coating and reinforcement will also be added to the pipe to combat any potential corrosion.

This pipeline is a good news story. Ontario should embrace private sector infrastructure investments that create jobs, provide revenue for municipalities, and secure lower prices at the pumps. Instead, many politicians and special interest activists are using hyperbole and halftruths to spread fear about a company with a 99.999% safety record and a pipeline that will be economically beneficial.