As we mentioned on this page last Sunday, it is our intent over the next few weeks to review the major issues confronting Premier Christy Clark as she starts her new term in office.
After budget management 鈥� last week鈥檚 topic 鈥� by far the most controversial task facing Clark is the creation of a coherent energy policy.
Two major pipeline proposals will have to be dealt with 鈥� the Northern Gateway project bringing oil from Alberta to Kitimat, and the twinning of the Kinder Morgan oil line from Edmonton to the port of Vancouver.
The premier has already lent support to the construction of an extensive new liquefied-natural-gas complex at Kitimat.
Overhanging these projects are plans to build a massive coal terminal at the Surrey docks. Barges from the terminal would ferry four million tonnes of coal a year to ocean-going freighters in the Strait of Georgia.
In addition, a decision will have to be made about sa国际传媒 Hydro鈥檚 plan to build a new dam and power station on the Peace River.
Strictly speaking, not all of these projects require provincial approval. The Northern Gateway pipeline falls under federal jurisdiction, and a decision on the coal terminal rests with Port Metro Vancouver.
Clark鈥檚 environment minister, Terry Lake, has already raised concerns about the Northern Gateway proposal, and demanded improvements as the price of sa国际传媒鈥檚 support.
That might buy Clark some time.
But in the end, the premier will be forced to take a stance on these projects, one way or the other.
And these are brutally difficult matters to resolve. On the one hand, it is almost impossible to overstate the economic benefits involved.
The petroleum deposits in northeastern sa国际传媒 and the Alberta oilsands are second only to those of Saudi Arabia. Oil and gas exports have the potential to buttress our economy for years to come, even as industries traditional to our province, such as fishing and the forest sector, struggle.
And struggle they have. In 1982, the median income in sa国际传媒 was $31,600 in constant dollars. Today it is $27,500.
This dramatic decline in the living standards of working families, and the need to do something about it, is a reality that all our political leaders must face.
On the other hand, the environmental threats are self-evident. It requires no imagination to picture the results of a fully loaded oil tanker wrecking on our coastline.
In March 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska and spilled more than 40 million litres of crude oil into the ocean. Massive cleanup efforts were required, and even then, local wildlife populations suffered serious losses.
What, then, is to be done? While reading the collective mind of the electorate is a game of chance, last month鈥檚 campaign did offer some direction.
When forced to choose, it seems voters placed bread-and-butter issues like jobs and the economy ahead of other concerns. Surprisingly, it was the Liberals, and not the NDP, who made themselves the party of working families.
There is no mandate here to destroy the environment. However there is, perhaps, permission to proceed cautiously.
Can that be done? Many in the environmental movement don鈥檛 believe so. History suggests they are right to be concerned. Accidents will always happen.
Those are the dangerous waters the premier must now try to navigate. Lean too far in one direction and she undermines sa国际传媒鈥檚 wage economy.
Proceed carelessly in the other direction and she betrays the environment.
Clark showed great vigour and clarity of mind during the campaign. She must now bring those qualities to bear in managing the energy file.
If she succeeds, the benefits will be enormous. If she fails, the consequences don鈥檛 bear thinking about.
