Form B - Service Alberta: Fill & Download for Free

As someone born and bred in Toronto but currently lives in the UK (and trying to move to the US) let me tell you Canada is really not the best country in the world (America is, sorry) Let me debunk some things in these comments:Natural resources: Canada’s economy is heavily dependent on natural resources. Oil in particular. Why people think this is a good thing is beyond me as natural resource commodity prices are inherently unstable w/ prices fluctuating widely. The most recent drop in oil prices in 2014/’15 sent the Canadian economy into a near recession. Not to mention the the catastrophic effects the Alberta tar sands are doing to the environment.Political stability: Canadian politics are relatively stable, however I would chalk that up to Canadians being passive about politics and not being active in holding politicians feet up to the fire. Most Canadian’s have this idea that our socialist system is honky-dory, while monopolies run rampant, anti-trust laws are barely enforced, the upper echelons of Canadian business are the same old white boys who don’t even let younger white boys into their club (let alone women/POC) — Canada is DEAD BROKE, yet the population doesn’t care & therefore the politicians don’t either. This makes for a stable yet deeply troubled society.Cultural diversity: now I actually had a laugh at that one. Unless you have only been to Toronto (the most diverse/multi-cultural city in the world) you would not say that. Quebec is racist AF (I’m black and have black family living there and its across the board.), Nova Scotia/Atlantic Canada has a race history that will give America Jim-Crow a run for its money (google ‘Halifax Afric-ville’) the praries (and really the rest of Canada tbh) are a nightmare for any Aboriginal, and BC is just white/Chinese (more Chinese than white, which isn’t a problem but there is a lot of self-segregation and a lack of integration) — point is, Canada is a nation of immigrants that self-segregate and discriminate as much as every other white majority country, they just think too highly of themselves to talk about it.Healthcare: Canadian healthcare needs rampant overall. If you benchmark is US healthcare than OK, its better. But thats not saying much. It’s not universal as the myth goes & each province has a different system. Ontario health (OHIP) is in crisis, dead broke, lack of beds, absurd wait times, poor doctor care and much much more. Most Ontarioans already receive a form of private health insurance from employer/through pension. They would be wise to expand the services private insurers are able to provide (creating a much more even two-tier system, ironically akin to America but done better)Peace/order: Canada hasn’t had to divert a significant amount of its GDP towards its military b.c it has America to the south. Also Canada has 35 million people which makes is a SMALL SMALL player in foreign affairs. As a Canadian who has lived outside Canada for the past 6 years - NO ONE cares and knows the first things about anything CanadianEducation: it is affordable and decent - although there is an education bubble growing in Ontario that has seen the youth unemployment/underemployment figure balloon as too many people with degrees and not enough jobs in southern Ontario (BECAUSE TORONTO IS THE ONLY PLACE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE IN CANADA)Economy: The Canadian economy is fixing for a tanking soon. Canada has THE HIGHEST HOUSEHOLD DEBT PER CAPITA ratio than any other OECD country. Canadians officially hold the greatest amount of personal debt relative to their debt - something which should SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF CANADIANS. But it doesn’t b/c they’re passive. For some odd-ball reason people keep taking out massive mortgages to pay for over-inflated Toronto/Vancouver houses (without realizing what goes up..must come down..) only because interest rates are rock bottom low. I pray that there isn’t a natural disaster/recession in EU/war/any event that will hike interest rates over-night b/c the entire house of cards will fall.Canada is also so socialist they don’t realize how much it has stymied innovation and economic growth. Canadians don’t realize that there is a better way to keep healthcare access and affordability but make health services BETTER, and there is a way to stop over-paying for meat/diary/fish/nuts/foot etc. by not having the Canadian government dictate how much and at what price producers should pay. There is a way for massive monopolies to not fleece Canadian consumers out of $$ b/c they have been in the pocket of the gov’ for so long they’ve consolidated and colluded with every institution to get rid of competitionI say all of this because Canada CAN be such a great country, and it has the potential to really blend a version of capitalism that is equitable for all - but it’s not doing that now, and it will only be able to do that once Canadian’s wake up and realize politicians (Trudeau) have been failing us and that there’s a better way forward.

Oh, no! There are many other (groups of) species that alter ecosystem-, and/or by extension evolutionary processes, at an extent comparable to or even greater than humans.Cyanobacteria →Perhaps the phylum with the greatest impact on the history of the world, and on life, as we know it. Cyanobacteria are a photosynthesizing group of bacteria, formerly known as “blue-green algae”. They are the only prokaryotes capable of producing oxygen (O2), and are believed to be the earliest organisms to do so [1]. By introducing oxygen into the atmosphere, cyanobacteria have caused one of the greatest transformations in planetary ecology –like ever!- and ended almost all life on Earth at the time. That was the so called “Great Oxygenation Event” (GOE), during which Earth’s early, oxygen-poor, reducing atmosphere underwent massive oxygenation. This lead to near-extinction of anaerobic organisms and a dramatic change in the composition of our planet’s life forms [2]. It paved the way for the evolution of aerobic respiration – the most energy efficient metabolism known [3] – making it possible for complex, multicellular organisms to emerge.The way those tiny creatures reshaped the environment had an impact that resonates through the eons, as plants, animals and humans (*), all owe their existence to cyanobacteria’s oxygen producing ability.(*) With this wording, I do not imply humans are not animalsParasites →Parasitism might well be one of the most successful survival strategies in the course of evolution! It is estimated that parasites comprise an impressive ~40% or even ~50% (*) of all known species on Earth [4,5], while virtually all free-living animals are host to one or more parasitic taxa [4].(*) depending on whether parasites of plants are included or not in the calculationTo ensure their survival and reproduction, parasites have developed a multitude of cunning ways to alter their (living) habitats in a manner that fits them best. Let’s take a look on some of those:- Modulation of the host’s immune responseFor example, pox- and herpesviruses “borrow” genes from their hosts and produce immune-related molecules that mimic the original ones, but are not harmful to the virus. Host cytokines become virokines and host receptors become viroreceptors, effectively disarming the host’s immune defenses against the virus [6].- Transformation of the host’s morphologyFor instance, parasitic flatworms’ larvae of the genus Ribeiroia infect frogs at the tadpole stage, drill themselves in the tissues that are meant to develop into legs and interfere with the way they form. The end result is an adult frog, whose body is a tangled mess, sprouting misshapen, extraneous limbs and joints – and looks very much like the product of a nuclear accident. Unable to walk or swim like a normal frog, the flatworms’ host makes an easy prey for birds, in the stomach of which the parasite can continue its life cycle [7].- Manipulation of the host’s behaviorMany parasites alter the behavior of their hosts, hijacking their brain either directly or indirectly, in a way that increases the parasite’s chances of transmission, so that its life cycle can go on (Read “Mindsuckers” in National Geographic). One example is the so-called gordian or horsehair worm, which parasitizes mostly on crickets. The problem is that while the cricket cannot swim and avoids water like hell, the worm needs an aquatic habitat to mate and have its eggs hatched. So, once it’s ready to reproduce it releases neurotransmitters that goof up the cricket’s brain, making it jump around in search for light. During the night, the only light sources are lakes and rivers, whose surface reflects the moonlight. That is an irresistible lure for the worm-infected crickets, which readily jump in the water – practically committing suicide. Hairworms emerge, ready to find love, lay their eggs and continue the cycle once again [8].So far, I talked about large groups of species that, by altering their environment, had a large effect on the evolutionary or life’s course of other species. But there’s also another category of organisms, which structure and reshape their habitat in a way that suits their needs, and in doing so they exert profound effects on the occurrence, abundance, diversity and spatial pattern of other organisms. These are called “ecosystem engineers” and they can make or brake an ecosystem. Here are some prominent examples:Beavers (Castor Canadensis) →Beavers have already been mentioned by a fellow Quoran, and for a good reason. They are the textbook example of “ecosystem engineering” species. These voluminous rodents fell trees and combine them with mud and stone to build dams, which serve them as a protection against predators. And since we talk about engineering… Beavers can built gigantic structures (the biggest known, in Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada, spans a length of 850 m! - see the picture below) and vary the shape of the dam depending on the speed of water; in slow-moving water, they build a straight dam, whereas in fast-moving water the dams tend to be curved [9].This habit of theirs has dramatic and wide-ranging effects on the ecosystem, which can last for more than 50 years [10]. Damming streams slows water currents and increases deposition of sediment and organic material in the water, resulting in the creation of nutrient-rich ponds and wetlands, which host innumerable species. For instance, insects that prefer still water thrive and the standing crop of plankton increases about 5 times compared to the unaltered stream [11], providing abundant food sources for fish, amphibians, birds and, in turn, mammals.In addition, beaver dams remove toxins and pollutants from waterways, reduce soil erosion (protecting people in surrounding areas from flood), and help recharging aquifiers (protecting the ecosystem from drought as they increase the levels of underground water) [12].Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) →These tortoises live in “scrub” habitats (areas with sandy soil and sparsely populated by trees) and have the ability to dig large, deep burrows that resemble subterranean villages. These burrows are critical for the survival of more than 350 other species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and even birds, since they use them as shelter from predators, or as a temporary refuge from fires, which are common in this type of ecosystem. Because of their critical role in the ecosystem, Gopher tortoises are considered a “keystone species”[13].Parrotfish →Among the thousands of reef fishes roaming in the Great Barrier Reef, in Australia, the parrotfish is the only species that scratches limestone and macroalgae off from coral reefs [14]. This is especially important for the health and maintenance of the ecosystem, as macroalgae compete with corals for space and, if not consumed, would smother them [15]. So, without the parrotfish the complex and colourful coral-reef ecosystem runs the risk of collapse. And this is not a trivial matter… Apart from creating a habitat for the most diverse ecosystem on the planet, coral reefs defend coastlines from the damaging effects of waves and tropical storms, are the primal source of nitrogen and other essential elements for marine food chains and have a major contribution in nutrient recycling. Moreover, they are of great financial importance; the fishing industry depends on the reefs, because they provide nursery grounds to about one third of all saltwater fish species, while tourism greatly benefits from their beauty that attracts millions of tourists [16].Fun fact: On the occasion of a scant number of males, females can readily change sex [17]!Oysters →The humble oyster is much more than a “sophisticated” delicacy. Just as coral reefs are critical to tropical marine habitats, oyster reefs are the ecosystem engineers of bays and estuaries, and are essential for maintaining local marine systems populous, diverse and healthy.First of all, being the only hard substrate in a predominantly soft-sediment environment, oyster reefs provide a habitat for mollusks, polychaetes, crustaceans and many other invertebrates, as well as a refuge and foraging ground for juvenile fish [18]. Probably, though, the greatest gift they make to their environment does not come from the “worthy-to-become-a-Pokémon” weirdness of their shape, but from their eating habits. Oysters feed by actively filtering nutrients, sediments and phytoplankton from the water, and their filtering capacity is astonishing! An individual oyster can filter on average ~115 liters per gram (of oyster tissue) per day [19]. Compare this to the mean blood filtration rate by the human kidney, which is ~0,4-0,5 liters per gram (of kidney tissue) per day… [20].This diligent water-cleaning activity decreases the microbial and toxin load of the area [21], while it also hinders the population of phytoplankton (that is, all the photosynthesizing microscopic organisms inhabiting the upper sunlit layer of almost all oceans and bodies of fresh water) from growing out of hand [18]. This is more important than it sounds! That is because too high concentrations of phytoplankton prevent sunlight penetration to deeper water levels, causing submerged aquatic vegetation to die. The bacteria that feast on those (large bulks) of dead organic matter consume huge amounts of the oxygen that is dissolved in the water, which is eventually depleted. Thereby, fish and other life forms suffocate and die.So, oysters are marine organisms’ best friend, not only because they safeguard them against “homelessness”, disease and poisoning, but also because they forestall phytoplankton from turning bay ecosystems into a wet desert.Honorable mentions:Decomposers (bacterial & fungal species) →Without their nutrient-recycling activities, plants (and thus herbivores, and thus carnivores, and omnivores) would starve and the Earth would soon become a huge dump, full of carcasses and fecal matter. Thank you, decomposers!Bees →It has often been said that bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat (reference: the internet :P). Pollination is the process of plant fertilization and is necessary for the production of fruit, vegetables, agricultural crops and flowers. Bees are the main insect pollinators, by far. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the U.N estimates that of the 115 crop species that provide 90% of food supplies for 146 countries, 71 need bee-pollinators to increase their yields and quality [22]. A few examples of the foods we ‘d miss from our table, if bees ceased pollinating our agricultural goods, are: broccoli, cucumbers, pumpkins, onions, garlic, almonds, cantaloupes, watermelons, apples, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, coffee, tea and cocoa beans (Yes! Chocolate…). Thank you bees!Earthworms →They mix the soil, break down organic matter, recycle nutrients, improve water intake and transmission, and generally alter soil properties in ways that are beneficial to plant growth. All of these hobbies of theirs, make earthworms one of the best bio-indicators of forest site quality and an invaluable ally for forest life [23].Termites →Together with ants and earthworms they constitute our Earth’s top soil-engineering crew. Termites are the main macroinvertebrate decomposers in arid and semi-arid environments, thereby helping in soil formation. They influence the distribution of natural resources (e.g. water and nutrients) in the landscape, and consequently the diversity of soil microbes, plants and animals. Using excavated mineral material, stone and clay they created giant mounds, which can serve as “Fertility Totems” amidst barren territories, like the African savannas [24].Woodpeckers →Inspiring the creation of a classic cartoon character with its funny looks is not the only thing the crafty woodpecker has to offer. Their field of expertise as engineers is drilling holes in trees. By excavating cavities, woodpeckers construct homes for numerous small cavity dwellers - besides its own young -, such as bats, squirrels, raccoons, several bird- and owl-species, [25], and occasionally amphibians and reptiles [26]. Current research has shown that occupancy of woodpecker-crafted excavations is important not only in green forests, but also plays a vital role in reestablishing ecosystem diversity post-fire [27].1. Hamilton T.L., Bryant D.A. & Macalade J.L., (2016), The role of biology in planetary evolution: cyanobacterial primary production in low‐oxygen Proterozoic oceans, Environ Microbiol.; 18(2): 325–340.2. Fischer A.G., (1965), Fossils, early life and atmospheric history, American Journal of Science; 53: 1205-1215.3. Dismukes GC, Klimov VV, Baranov SV, et al., (2001), The origin of atmospheric oxygen on Earth: the innovation of oxygenic photosynthesis. PNAS; 98(5): 2170–2175.4. Dobson A., Lafferty K.D., Kuris A.M., Hechinger R.F. & Jetz W., (2008), Homage to Linnaeus: How many parasites? How many hosts?: PNAS, 105(1), doi:10.1073/pnas.08032321055. Price P.W., (1977), General Concepts on the Evolutionary Biology of Parasites, Evolution, 31(2): 405-420.6. Schmidt-Hempel P., (2009), Immune defense, parasite evasion strategies and their relevance for ‘macroscopic phenomena’ such as virulence, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci., 364(1513): 85–98.7. Johnson P.T., Lunde K.B., Thurman M.E., Ritchie E.G., et al., (2002), Parasite (Ribeiroia ondatrae) infection linked to amphibian malformation in the western United States, Ecological Monographs, 72(2): 151-168.8. Ponton F., Otalora-Luna F., Lefevre T., Guerin P.M., et al., (2011), Water-seeking behavior in worm-infectedcrickets and reversibility of parasitic manipulation, Behav Ecol., 22(2):392-400.9. Fall, S. (2007). "Beaver pictures & facts".10. Terwilliger J. & Pastor J., (1999), Small mammals, ectomycorrhizae, and conifer succession in beaver meadows. Oikos 85:83–94.11. Dietland Muller-Swarze (2003). The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer. Cornell University Press.12. Correll D.L., Jordan T.E. & Weller D.E., (2000), "Beaver pond biogeochemical effects in the Maryland Coastal Plain". Biogeochemistry, 49 (3): 217–239.13. Five Fun Facts about Gopher Tortoises14. Single species may be key to reef health15. Hughes, T.P., (1994), Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef, Science, 256: 1547–1551.16. Biodiscovery and the Great Barrier Reef17. Cardwell J.R. & Liley N.R., (1991), Hormonal control of sex and color change in the stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viride., Gen Comp Endocrinol., 81(1):7-20.18. Grabowski J.H. & Peterson C.H., (2007), Restoring oyster reefs to recover ecosystem services, Theoretical Ecology Series, 4: 281-298.19. Cranford, P.J., Ward, J.E., Shumway, S.E., (2011), Bivalve filter feeding: variability and limits of the aquaculture biofilter. In: Shumway, S.E. [Ed.] Shellfish Aquaculture and the Environment. John Wiley & Sons Publ., pp. 81-124.20. Barnes-Svarney, P. L., & Svarney, T. E., (2016), The handy anatomy answer book: Includes physiology (Second edition.). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 279.21. Jackson J.B.C., Kirby M.X., Berger W., Bjorndal K.A., et al., (2001), Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems, Science, 293(5530): 629-637.22. Kluser S., Peduzzi P., (2007), ”Global Pollinator Decline: A Litterature Review”, UNEP/GRIDEurope. © UNEP 200723. Kooch Y. & Jalilvand H., (2008), Earthworms as Ecosystem Engineers and the most Important Detritivors in Forest Soils, Pakistan Journal of Biological Science, 11(6): 819-825.24. Bignell D.E., (2006), Termites as Soil Engineers and Soil Processors. In: König H., Varma A. (eds) Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites and Other Invertebrates, Soil Biology, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, vol 6, pp.18325. Aubry K. & Raley C.M., (2002), The Pileated Woodpecker as a Keystone Habitat Modifier in the Pacific Northwest, USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181, 257-274.26. Bunnell F. L. &. Dupuis L. A, (1995), Riparian habitats in British Columbia: their nature and role, in Riparian Habitat Management and Research, K. H. Morgan and M. A. Lashmar, Eds., Special Publication of the Fraser River Action Plan, Canadian Wildlife Service, Delta, Canada, pp. 7–2127. Tarbill G.L., Manley P.N. & White A.M., (2015), Drill, baby, drill: the influence of woodpeckers on post-fire vertebrate communities through cavity excavation, Journal of Zoology, 296(2): 95-103.

Full disclosure: I live in Edmonton (the northeast terminus of the pipeline).My view is that the pipeline should be a non-issue. I am a bit perplexed as to why pipelines have become this symbol of the environmental movement; a symbol which many politicians and environmentalists have chosen as their hill to die on.TransMountain expansion is not ruining pristine habitatPlain and simple: the TransMountain pipeline project is an expansion of an existing pipeline laid in the 1950s. For 73% of the length of the line, the new pipeline will run within the same right-of-way as the existing pipeline. That means they will be less than 30 meters apart. For the remaining 27% of the length, the pipeline will be very close to the original pipeline. Over the entire length, the pipelines travels through existing utility and transportation corridors following Highway 16 and Highway 5.This pipeline is not traversing through pristine and unaltered habitat. More deer will be killed by motorists on Highway 5 than will ever be killed by this pipeline.I seriously wonder if some people don’t realize that TransMountain and Northern Gateway are different projects. The Liberal government took a very even-handed approach to the pipeline issue. They quashed the one that had a greater environmental impact and allowed the one that had minor impact to be approved. It was a compromise.The forestry industry in BC disrupts far more habitat than this pipeline will. Just look at a forestry road network map and you will see that BC is criss-crossed by thousands of forestry roads.The TransMountain Pipeline will spill eventuallyNearly all major pipelines eventually have an accident. But I honestly think some people think a pipeline spill is equivalent to an oil tanker accident or a BP Gulf disaster.The existing TransMountain pipeline has had 82 spills since 1961. Eighty-two! Most of these were so small that they were barely even newsworthy. They were cleaned up quickly and to high standards by the pipeline operator, KinderMorgan.The worst spill in terms of damage was in Burnaby in 2007 when a city worker ruptured the pipeline while digging and caused just over 300 cubic meters of oil to spill. Several houses were damaged and a small amount of oil made its way into Burrard Inlet. 16 birds were affected. That’s the worst spill over a nearly 60 year history on a pipeline with old safety stop-valve technology.For context, the ExxonValdez disaster released over 41,000 cubic meters of oil, more than 130 times the spill in Burnaby. Thousands of bird were killed. The BP oil spill released 780,000 cubic meters of oil, more than 2,600 times that of the 2009 Burnaby spill. Comparing the scale of the ExxonValdez and BP disasters to a pipeline spill is laughable.A spill of the new TransMountain would have very limited environmental impact, no significant impact on the tourism industry, and no significant impact on the BC coast.A tanker accident on the Pacific Coast is tangential to the pipelineCurrently, about 25 oil tankers transit the Strait of Juan de Fuca every month. Five of them are bound for Vancouver and the remaining 20 are bound for Puget Sound. If people are concerned about tanker traffic, where are the protests against the tankers?An accident could happen. As in it is theoretically possible. But there has never been a tanker accident in the Vancouver-Seattle region. Ever. In fact, there has only been one significant tanker spill in Canadian waters and it was in 1970 off the coast of Nova Scotia.Furthermore, the ExxonValdez disaster spurred a huge change in tanker technology and regulations. ExxonValdez was singled-hulled which contributed to a huge amount of additional oil spilled. All tankers entering Burrard Inlet are required to be double-hulled enforced by the Port of Vancouver. All tankers are required to be pulled by tug-boat through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There are so many checks and safety measures that did not exist prior to ExxonValdez.In summary, tanker accidents are insanely rare. Safety regulations are very strict and no major accident has ever happened. Tankers are already going up and down Burrard Inlet and Puget Sound with little protest. So what does this have to do with the pipeline?The pipeline will increase tanker traffic. Increasing the odds of an accident from 1 in a million to 2 in a million is still very, very slim odds. I don’t see it as a good reason to stop the project expansion.Pipelines are like railways and highways and often need to be upgradedImagine if the TransCanada Highway in BC had never been upgraded or expanded since 1950 to accommodate the increased population. That would be insane, right? TransMountain was built in the 1950s and has had only one small expansion (in 2004 with almost no protest from anyone).It makes perfect sense that we would need new infrastructure considering our population has more than doubled and the global population has more than tripled.Its an infrastructure upgrade. They are often necessary.Who would’ve thought that an infrastructure upgrade could lead to such animosity between two provinces and a possible constitutional crisis?EDIT #1: Oil and gas are valuable natural resources that will be used for decades to come and stopping pipeline construction is not a form of climate change mitigationThis is a bit tangential to the topic but it is a good point. Some of the pipeline protesters do not want to see the oil sands developed any more and see the pipeline protests as a way to fight back against climate change.Two general comments.First, there are a wide array of petroleum products that currently do not have any viable alternatives. Electric vehicles may slowly take a larger and larger market share, reducing demand for gasoline. Similarly phasing out fossil fuel energy generation by replacing it with hydropower, nuclear, geothermal and other baseload options is possible as well (replacing with wind and solar is not possible because neither provide baseload power). But things like jet fuel, asphalt, plastics, petrochemicals, coke (for smelting), heating oil for homes, and many other products simply have no alternative at the present time. Furthermore, EVs will replace market share for urban commuters relatively easily. But semi-truck trailers, heavy machinery, and other long-distance travel is still likely going to need gasoline or diesel for some time. In summary, we need oil and gas for awhile yet (e.g. decades at least) as a fuel and will likely need it long-term (e.g. centuries) for other petroleum products. Upgrading a pipeline seems like a reasonable infrastructure project similar to twinning a highway, building a new transmission line, twinning a rail line, etc.Second, protesting a pipeline does not help climate change mitigation. Two ways to combat climate change are to A) decrease demand or B) restrict supply. Whether TransMountain is built or not will have no effect on A and extremely miniscule and limited effect on B. Demand decreases when viable, economical alternatives are presented to consumers. The price of EVs as well as improvements to their range, power, charging ability, etc. are all going to go a long way to decrease demand for gasoline-powered vehicles. It’ll be a relatively slow transition I think (e.g. decades) but already EVs are taking a larger and larger market share year-on-year. With regards to supply, the pipeline is not about supply-side. Oil will still be extracted in Alberta and shipped via rail or via existing pipelines. The pipeline is about accessing markets other than the US. Currently, 98% of our oil exports go to the US. With increasing political volatility and partisanship in the US, it seems smart for Canada to diversify its trade partners. We are a large isolated country that shares only one land border. We are heavily dependent on the US for trade which is not smart in the long-term. I think one reason that the federal government wants to push this pipeline through is to show the US that we are not so reliant on them, especially as NAFTA negotiations are ongoing.EDIT #2: With the recent introduction of tariffs by the USA on Canadian imports of steel and aluminum, it seems even more pressing to diversify so that we can sell our natural resources, manufactured products, and services to other nations other than the United States. The USA seems increasingly volatile and unpredictable and will be so for the next few years at least. We need to have some leverage because currently, we are so dependent on the USA for trade that it is impossible to negotiate with them.