A nation-building electricity grid

In an opinion piece for the National Observer, Andréanne Brazeau (David Suzuki Foundation, USherbrooke) and Charles-Édouard Têtu (Équiterre) confront the proposals for pipelines and fossil fuel infrastructure as national interest projects prompted by the Building Canada Act’s adoption with, among others, a recent call by more than 100 Canadian organizations for an east-west electricity grid.

According to the authors, opposition to fossil fuel development is building up, especially in Quebec, thus endangering national unity if the government were to continue to show its support for these projects. Furthermore, they insist on the general absurdity of investing in "yesterday's energy model" in a world that is moving rapidly past fossil fuels. Not only is the market need abroad for natural gas dwindling, but massive pipeline projects often turn out to be a money pit, as examplified by the Trans Mountain expansion case, where "the cost skyrocket[ed] from $4.5 billion to $34 billion" - that means more than 7 times the estimated cost - while "still not achieving full capacity".

In addition, fossil fuel pipelines take "years before becoming operational" - and "even if Energy East were operational today, it could not close the capacity gap needed for full energy autonomy." Far from being a quick fix to current geopolitical issues, such projects are, according to the authors, just a waste of public money "in sectors that have no future." By contrast, a "real nation-building project is a strong national grid that will increase our economic competitiveness, create lasting jobs, support our climate commitments and shield Canadian households from rising fossil fuel costs."