Trans Mountain supporters suggest rising gas prices highlight expansion need
Posted March 7, 2018 3:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The organizers of a weekend rally in favour of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion say Metro Vancouver drivers shouldn’t be surprised by rising gas prices.
They’re suggesting twinning the existing pipeline makes it possible for Alberta oil companies to eventually deliver more fuel to BC.
“What we’re hearing is the connection between having the twinned pipeline –the expansion– and what it means for the average person driving their car around, having to fill their tank, is real,” says Stewart Muir, the Executive Director of Resource Works. “It is there. If we don’t get this twinned pipeline expansion going ahead, it will have real consequences for the long term affordability of being a driver in Metro Vancouver.”
He says the existing pipeline is unique in North America and is used to ship a number of different products for various purposes. While twinning the pipeline won’t necessarily reduce gas prices, Muir says it’ll give the province a flexible supply. “Right now Metro Vancouver is under-supplied, that’s why prices are up. The picture today, $1.50 for regular in Vancouver, this is a trend into the future over the long term. So the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion can be part of that solution.”
He sees the expansion as an opportunity to deliver more fuel to BC, one way or another.
Resource Works is described as a society that promotes the responsible development of resources across this province.
Saturday’s 2 p.m. rally at Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza in Coal Harbour is described as for “Our Shared Future.”
“I think it’s about time that the personal impact of this is experienced in ways that are more about the household and the expenses because these are real concerns. It’s not just that it’s a national project of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs, we hear all those facts all the time, and I think people are kind of immune, or have shut that off as just more background noise, but as we see the current trend of high prices caused by different factors –including the scarcity problem, it really is a wake up call to consider that this is a real issue for everyone who relies on getting around in a car that’s fueled by traditional fuels, and that’s pretty much everybody.”
Featured speakers at the planned rally include First Nations leaders and oil field workers.
