National Energy Board's pipeline focus isn't climate change, CEO says

The chief executive officer of the National Energy Board assures New Brunswickers that the board will keep an eye on any environmental concerns raised by construction of the Energy East pipeline project, but says it is not the board's primary focus.

Peter Watson, the chair and chief executive officer of the National Energy Board, said it's up to the provinces involved and the pipeline company, TransCanada Corp., to look after any broader issues around climate change.

The board's main job is to ensure proper construction of the pipeline, he says.

"One of the things that we take very seriously is, can that be constructed and operated properly and can the safety and security of the people in the communities that that project interfaces with, you know, can they be addressed?" Watson said.

"And that's the focus we bring to this and we do a pretty good job of it."

Watson is in New Brunswick Tuesday to speak to the Saint John Board of Trade about the pipeline project.

He's expected to speak about the plan that the board is setting up to make sure any communities affected by the national project have a chance to be heard.

TransCanada's $11-billion Energy East proposal would see the conversion of roughly 3,000 kilometres of natural gas pipeline on the company's Canadian Mainline route and the construction of 1,400 kilometres of new pipeline, to carry crude oil from Alberta to Saint John.

Meanwhile, Trans-Canada has changed its job creation estimates for the Energy East project.

The projected number of jobs in New Brunswick during development and construction has increasted from 1,427 to 1,894, according to the company's application to the National Energy Board.

The projected number of direct jobs in the province during operations has decreased  from 121 to 78.

The changes are the result of a different method being used in the calculations, according to a company official.

The pipeline proposal would send 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Western Canada to refineries and export terminals in Eastern Canada.

TransCanada and Irving Oil Ltd. have also formed a joint venture to build and operate a new $300-million deep water marine terminal.

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant was in Toronto on Monday promoting the pipeline project in a meeting with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

That meeting came after a similar meeting between Wynne and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. Wynne and Couillard set out seven conditions for the pipeline project.

The conditions include consultations with First Nations, strict safety rules, recognition of the larger need to fight climate change, and ensuring natural gas customers in central Canada are not affected when part of a gas pipeline there becomes part of Energy East.