QUEBEC CITY -- Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre is calling on the Enbridge oil company to set up a $1 billion contingency fund for use in a potential disaster along its pipeline going through Montreal.
The company wants to reverse the flow on one of its pipelines and bring Alberta oil to Montreal. The project ultimately requires federal approval, but Coderre was in Quebec City Monday for hearings at the National Assembly, because Quebec is inquiring into the project.
Coderre said the project is interesting but it must come with environmental safeguards and solid economic benefits for the city.
“They're going under the Ottawa River, so there's an issue there. You have two million people who are taking their drinkable water from there so it's all about asking questions. I'm not signing a cheque, I'm not signing a contract until I have my own answers,” said Coderre
It's not realistic for the company to create such a large emergency fund for just one of its projects, said Enbridge spokesperson Éric Prud'homme.
“You have to understand that’s $1 billion for a project, in Quebec, that represents 0.4 per cent of our whole infrastructure in North America -- if every jurisdiction does that. well what do you think will happen to the company?” he said.
