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Quebecers leery of pipeline safety: poll

In the debate over whether to build the Energy East pipeline, advocates often use improved safety as a key selling point. But Quebecers are the least likely to buy that argument, according to a poll commissioned by the CBC.

CBC poll suggests Quebecers more likely than other Canadians to consider pipelines unsafe

CBC News ·
Protester Jean Léger waves a banner and sings at the opening of environment hearings on the Energie Est pipeline, Monday, March 7, 2016 in Lévis, Que. Quebecers tend to be more leery of pipelines, a poll suggests. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

In the debate over whether to build a cross country oil pipeline, advocates often use improved safety as a key selling point. Pipelines are the safest way to transport oil, they say. 

But Quebecers are the least likely in Canada to buy that argument, suggests to a new poll commissioned by the CBC. 

The poll, conducted by Ekos, found that while more than two-thirds of Canadians consider pipelines the safest way to transport oil long distances, only 51 per cent of Quebecers agreed. 

Simone Landry at her horse farm in Mascouche, Quebec. She is opposed to the Energy East pipeline will run at the perimeter of her property. (Denis Couture)
Simone Landry, of Mascouche, Que., might be typical in this regard. She came across some TransCanada employees one day, surveying at the edge of her horse farm for the Energy East project.

"He says 'you know what happened on Lac-Mégantic, with the trains and all this, you know this will eliminate all that,'" Landry said, recalling her encounter with the employees. 

"And I went, 'Are you kidding me?'"

But if only a slim majority of Quebecers believe pipelines are safe, they aren't inclined to consider other modes of transport any safer. 

Lac-Mégantic remains a factor

Not surprisingly, given the Lac-Mégantic tragedy still remains fresh in the minds of many, few  in the province think trains are safe for transporting oil.

An unattended 74-car freight train carrying crude oil ran away and derailed, resulting in the fire and explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013. (CBC)
Most Canadian agree: nearly 53 per cent are of the opinion that trains aren't safe.

That number, however, rises to nearly 70 per cent in Quebec. 

Trucks and oil tankers don't fare much better in terms of safety, at least in the minds of Quebecers. 

More than 62 per cent don't think trucks are safe to transport oil long distances, compared to almost 55 per cent in the rest of Canada. 

As many as 58 per cent of Quebecers share similar opinion about oil tankers, again higher than the Canadian average of 49 per cent. 

The CBC Ekos poll surveyed almost 2,100 Canadians between February 16 – 26. Ekos estimates the margin of error at +/- 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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