Northern Gateway to Asia on the rocks again

Plans for an energy bridge to Asia from Canada's oil sands are looking shaky, writes Gary Park

Municipal governments, landowners and a coalition of 150 aboriginal and environmental groups are aligning against Enbridge's C$5.54bn ($5.4bn) Northern Gateway pipeline and a possible rival scheme by Kinder Morgan. Troubled by BP's Gulf of Mexico blowout and Enbridge's own pipeline mishaps in the US, they want nothing to do with overland pipelines and oil-tanker traffic in treacherous waters off the British Columbia (BC) coast. The opposition points to a rough ride ahead for Enbridge, which faces 18-24 months of regulatory hearings into environmental and socio-economic issues before a Canadian government review panel. The outcome of that process, assuming it stays the course, will make or b