Northern Gateway project is 'nation-building'

Canada's natural resources minister has claimed that work on a "nation-building" pipeline will not be stopped by protestors.

Joe Oliver said that the pipeline, which will provide a link between Canada's oilsands resources and Asian markets, will not be put to a stop though civil disobedience, Postmedia News reported.

He said that the Northern Gateway project will follow normal regulatory procedures but if given approval should not be prevented by groups threatening to halt its contruction.

"We can't let unlawful people oppose lawful development," he explained.

While Mr Oliver said he could not comment on the Northern Gateway project specifically, he said that it is vital for Canada to have access to Asian markets for oil and gas.

"That is clearly in our national interest. We'll survive without it, but not nearly in the same way … It's nation-building, without exaggeration," he claimed.

Meanwhile, BP has been accused of breaking its probation following a leak in 2006 by permitting the same thing to happen in 2009.

Posted by Lauren Steadman