A major piece of legislation has faced little resistance and is now on the way to the Senate.
Bill C-46, the Pipeline Safety Act, will set out certain standards for Canada’s 73,000 kilometre pipeline.
Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford says it focuses on four key measures.
Measures in the Act include a “polluter pays” principle and implementing “no fault” liability to the tune of $1-billion in the case of companies operating major oil pipelines.
It also includes requiring companies operating pipelines to hold a minimum level of financial resources in case of an incident and providing governments with the ability to pursue pipeline operators for the costs of environmental damages.
Rickford says he’s curious why the NDP refrained from voting noting they are usually fairly vocal on oil and gas issues.
However, he notes the legislation was approved on the same day the NDP was elected into power in Alberta.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May supported the legislation after the Conservatives approved her requested amendments.
Rickford says our pipelines are currently safe, but notes we could do better.
