Will Dix Flip-Flop on the Northern Gateway Pipeline?

Regardless of who wins the next provincial election, the subject of the Gateway pipeline will not go away.

1.  Dix Will Need the Money. Current budget balance not assured of continuing.

2.  Let's Face it, the prospect of Bitumen Being transported in coastal waters is the real intractable environmental issue that horrifies  British Columbians, not the pipeline itself.  If Black's proposal for a refinery in Kitimat is feasible, that will be a non-issue--and a good number of well-paid jobs will be created in B.C.

3. Giving First Nations equity in the pipeline, perhaps as a condition of Treaty settlements along the pipeline route, would remove most other serious objections.

4. Environmentalists still don't like developing the Alberta oil (tar) sands. But if a commitment to funding some technological advances down the road (reducing the costs of carbon sequestration, thorium-fuelled nuclear power to reduce energy costs) is put in place, perhaps this objection too can be overcome in time.

So, will Dix  change his mind about the pipeline? If all of the above conditions are met, maybe we should  hope that he does.