Pipelines selected as Canadian Press business news story of the year
CALGARY — The increasingly divisive debate over pipelines, with the economic benefits and environmental concerns they carry, has been selected as The Canadian Press business story of the year.
In an annual survey of newsrooms across the country, pipeline development edged out another politically charged issue — real estate — by a single vote, a reflection of how the two stories competed for attention throughout 2016.
The year saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempt to strike a grand bargain of sorts: approving Kinder Morgan’s expansion of Trans Mountain and the replacement of Enbridge’s Line 3 while also pushing ahead with a national carbon price and rejecting Enbridge’s Northern Gateway.
“In a debate between economy and the environment, the Trudeau government’s decision has not only huge political implications, but has sparked debate and protests over the rights of indigenous peoples that tarnishes the Liberal brand,” said Paul Samyn, editor at the Winnipeg Free Press.