The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will hold consultation sessions on the construction of TransCanada's proposed Energy East Pipeline in January, including several at locations in Northern Ontario.
In part one of its consultation, the OEB met with residents in communities along the route of the proposed pipeline and sought their perspectives on the project. Now that TransCanada has filed its application with the National Energy Board, the OEB is going back to the communities to respond to what it heard in part one and share the assessments of the application by its technical advisors.
Kenora: January 13
Thunder Bay: January 14
Kapuskasing: January 19
Timmins: January 20
North Bay: January 21
Ottawa (Kanata): January 22
Cornwall: January 27
The OEB will also be holding separate meetings during the same period to seek the views of First Nation and Métis communities regarding the Energy East project.
In addition to the community meetings, the OEB is hosting a forum at the end of January where invited stakeholders will discuss broader issues of concern to Ontarians, including the economic impact of the Energy East project on Ontario, as well as its impact on gas consumers, climate change, the environment, and pipeline safety.
The Ontario Minister of Energy asked the OEB to examine and report on the Energy East project from an Ontario perspective. The Ontario Government will use the OEB's report to inform its own position, when it participates in the hearings on the proposed pipeline at the National Energy Board. The OEB has no jurisdiction over the Energy East Pipeline project.
The proposed Energy East Pipeline is an approximately $12 billion project to transport crude oil from Western Canada through Ontario to Quebec and New Brunswick.
In Ontario, TransCanada proposes to convert approximately 1,900 kilometres of existing natural gas pipeline to carry crude oil, construct about 100 kilometres of new pipeline, and build approximately 30 pump stations.
