OTTAWA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Canada's New Democratic Party
would take greenhouse gas emissions into account in deciding
whether projects like TransCanada Corp 's TRP.TO Energy East
pipeline should be allowed to proceed, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair
said on Wednesday.
Mulcair, whose party is running neck and neck with the
governing Conservatives ahead of the Oct 19 election, said the
NDP would completely revamp the way projects are assessed, to
look at effects on climate change.
"An NDP government will bring in a credible, thorough
environmental assessment process that will include measuring
greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
"We will start the process over again with a project like
Energy East and find out whether or not it can be accomplished
safely for the environment and for the economy."
Mulcair has pointed to the C$12 billion ($9.2 billion)
project, designed to ship 1.1 million barrels a day of crude oil
from Alberta to Canada's East Coast for refining and possible
exporting, as a model plan since it would keep jobs in Canada.
But he also told L'Actualite magazine last month that it
could not be approved under the current assessment system.
($1=$1.30 Canadian)