Key takeaways:
- The project is left would be ‘terrible,’ said Ken McDonald.
- Ken McDonald is the Liberal MP for Avalon.
- He states he and the other MPs from Newfoundland and Labrador are going for the Bay du Nord project to drive forward.
Avalon Member of Parliament Ken McDonald says he and the region’s other MPs will continue to oppose the proposed Bay du Nord oil project, as failing the project would be “horrible” for the area.
The offered project, located approximately 500 kilometers east of Newfoundland, is now in limbo after Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault requested 40 more days to decide if the project could significantly impact the environment earlier this month.
According to Radio-Canada, the project has reportedly forced a divide within the Liberal cabinet, which reported in February that some Liberal ministers from Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia want to reject Bay du Nord after committing to environmental goals with capping emissions from the oil and gas industry.
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“I think it would be terrible if Bay du Nord doesn’t receive the green light,” McDonald told CBC News Friday.
“There are members of the Liberal caucus who likely don’t want Bay du Nord to go on. But I think that if this doesn’t go ahead, what [does]? Like it’s the purest oil in the world, and the tap will not be closed off tomorrow or the following day. If we can put cleaner oil on the market, it is good for everyone.”
MPs call project necessary to region’s future
While talking with reporters Friday, St. John’s South-Mount Pearl MP and federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan refused to say if he keeps Bay du Nord, mentioning cabinet confidentiality, but said the determination of the future on the project is “very alive” to the federal government.
Source – cbc.ca
