Professor says Atlantic region needs to reduce oil use, not build pipeline

FREDERICTON – The weekend rail disaster that devastated much of Lac-Megantic, Que., is raising questions in Atlantic Canada about the safety of transporting oil and the security of energy supply in the region.

Larry Hughes, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says rather than looking for ways to bring oil to the region for the long term, ways should be found to reduce the reliance on oil.

The New Brunswick government has been pushing for the construction of a pipeline to bring western crude to the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John.

But Hughes says the incident at Lac-Megantic should not be used as an argument in favour of a pipeline.

He said concerns over the environment and greenhouse gases in the Atlantic region could be muted by such a large infrastructure investment that would need to be supported for 50 years.

Hughes says if tanker ships were used to get oil from Montreal or Quebec City to Saint John, they could easily be reduced as the Atlantic region develops other energy sources, such as wind and solar.