Canada welcomes demise of Alaska drilling plan
Date: 19-Apr-02
Country: CANADA
Author: David Ljunggren
Canada had long objected to plans to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeast Alaska, saying to do so would ruin the calving ground of the Porcupine caribou herd upon which native Gwich'in Indians in both Alaska and Canada depend heavily.
The Democratic-led Senate killed the drilling idea yesterday, a big defeat for the national energy plan advanced by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson, who has campaigned tirelessly against the idea for years, was clearly delighted by the news.
"Of course I'm happy. But I don't think we owe them anything for it...I hope it's the end of the game (for drilling)," he told reporters with a broad smile, but noted the White House had promised to keep pressing the idea.
"We're going to be very vigilant to make sure this is the end. ANWR drilling was a mistake when it was first proposed, it's a mistake now and it will be a mistake in the future," Anderson said.
Ottawa, which says both countries should provide permanent protection for the wildlife populations that straddle the border, has already slapped a development ban on areas frequented by the Porcupine herd on the Canadian side of the border.
The U.S. administration and many Senate Republicans framed the debate as a national security issue, saying the oil in the refuge - estimated to contain up to 16 billion barrels - would help reduce U.S. dependence on crude from unfriendly countries such as Iraq.
But Anderson said that even if oil were found in great quantities, many years would pass before it made its way on to the American market.
"If it's going to take 10 years for ANWR to come on stream, which is likely - heavens, the Americans have a much bigger problem than they've been willing to admit on the issue of supply of energy," he said.
Canada says there are plenty of other energy sources in North America that could be developed before ANWR needed to be touched. These include the vast tar sands of Alberta, believed to be richer than the entire reserves of Saudi Arabia.
Anderson said that with ANWR drilling now off the agenda, he wanted to work closely with U.S. Environmental Protection chief Christine Todd Whitman on such topics as cleaning up air pollution in both countries.