Pipeline to nowhere

Pipeline company Enbridge has applied to the federal government for permission to build the Northern Gateway pipeline, a $5.5 billion oilsands pipeline from Bruderheim, Alta., to Kitimat, on B.C.'s North Coast. If approved, the project would export 525,000 barrels per day of diluted bitumen to Asia and California via oil tankers. A federal Joint Review Panel has been struck to review the economic, technical and financial feasibility of the pipeline and consider its environmental and socio-economic impact. Ultimately, the panel will determine if the pipeline has adverse environmental impacts and if the pipeline is in the public interest of Canadians.