Faith, trade mix in pipeline debate

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – One of Canada’s largest churches may take a stand against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, but our trade minister isn’t worried the overall debate will hurt our reputation overseas.

The United Church of Canada, one of the country’s largest Christian denominations, is well-known for taking stands on social justice issues.
    
The church will consider a motion at its general council meeting next week that calls on the church to oppose the pipeline that would run from Alberta’s oilsands to the BC Coast.

United Church moderator Mardi Tindal says taking care of the earth is a vital part of faith.
    
Meanwhile, International Trade Minister Ed Fast doesn’t think the haggling between BC and Alberta over who gets how much from the project is hurting other potential trade deals.

“We have, as a government, though, said it is absolutely critical for us to diversify our markets from simply having one major customer, which is the United States,” says Fast. “And that is why it is critical that we get the infrastructure in place to get our resource to market in a more efficient way.”

“We’re very much focused on making sure the processes we have in place are timely without undermining the integrity of those processes,” Fast adds. “And secondly, to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to get our resources to market.”

Premier Christy Clark has laid out five requirements Enbridge must meet before BC would consider approving the pipeline, including rigorous environmental standards, approval from the National Energy Board’s joint review panel and a fair share of the economic benefits from the project.

That requirement has been met with a flat “no” from Alberta Premier Alison Redford, who says her province is not prepared to share its resource revenues.

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