The news was that funding for the pipeline had been killed, and we had at the least a temporary victory over this evil pipeline plan through the Deh Cho valley. This minor but real victory was giving us much needed breathing room away from this pipeline and the backdoor, no-public-input sell out by the WWF, CPAWS and the CBI to promote the Nahanni as a "victory" when it was a sop given by the Feds to allow them to use *our money* to build the MGP. And make no mistake, the MGP is not a pipeline that would see the end of development in the north, but be the tipping point (with access via highways, etc) that leads to full scale industrialization across the NWT/Denendeh.
The likelihood of the MGP is down, not because of the lack of desire to build the pipeline nor because costs are too high-- stealing our tax money and handing it to industry is what this federal government does. The MGP will be sidelined for now, giving us time to build more resistance, because of the massive shale gas deposits in NE British Columbia and lots of newly accessible gas in shale throughout the lower 48.
Meanwhile, though the likely financial death of the MGP will not be publicly celebrated by the CBI, WWF, CPAWS... because they took a backroom we can only speculate upon, but almost certainly involved "you get the Nahanni, we get to industrialize the whole valley."
...and these kinds of deals are almost always taken by groups that receive bulk, sustaining funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts (themselves created by a massive endowment from Sunoco oil).
Say no to compromise on all of the territory north of 60!
No sell outs, backroom deals or any sidelining of public input...!
--M
Mackenzie pipeline fiscal talks continue-Imperial
10.30.09, 12:19 PM EDT
CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Talks between backers of the C$16.2 billion ($15 billion) Mackenzie gas pipeline and Ottawa are continuing despite a report this week that a federal cabinet committee rejected a financial support package, a senior executive with the lead proponent said on Friday.
'We're continuing to work with the federal government of Canada to set up an appropriate fiscal regime to ensure this project is economically viable and can be developed, and those discussions are continuing,' Paul Smith, senior vice-president of finance for Imperial Oil Ltd ( IMO - news - people ), said in an interview with Business News Network.
Smith said Imperial remained 'very positive' about the proposed project in Canada's Arctic, which has suffered a series of setbacks and cost hikes, as it believes the supply will be needed to help meet North American gas demand.
