Perhaps I can speak in the context of the west-east pipeline and what it would face in New Brunswick.
There is already all-party support at the provincial level, provided that environmental and regulatory requirements are met. I think the public is obviously no less concerned about the environment on the east coast than it is elsewhere, but I think we're starting from a point where there is public sympathy toward the principle that provinces should be able to move their products across provincial boundaries without being unduly constrained.
That's not to say there wouldn't be opposition to a project. At the moment we don't have a route. If we're talking about a New Brunswick pipeline, we obviously have to look at the Saint John River watershed. We have first nations issues. We have marine issues. In the Bay of Fundy there are several commercial fisheries. There is the endangered North American right whale.
Clearly, I think any proponent that is coming into our region needs to get very close to the communities, all of the communities, early on, and deal with these local issues.
I would suggest that from the point of view of transparency, we tend to sell these things as being big job creators, that there's a marvellous set of opportunities and benefits coming our way. I think we would probably be well advised to talk up front about some of the risks, and in doing that explain what is proposed to mitigate those risks.
I think we need that kind of transparency at the very beginning. First, let's not raise expectations about benefits that perhaps won't accrue, but more importantly, let's address the other issues.
I think the west-east pipeline, the need to service Alberta's export requirements, is justification enough if there's a commercial case to be made for it. I just think there's a risk that we can oversell the benefits without dealing with the risks.