Gateway pipeline looks unlikely; and the popular Quebec election debates

There was an interesting article in today's Globe and Mail on the difference of opinion between Alberta and British Columbia on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.  While 63 percent of Albertans support the project, 56 percent of British Columbians oppose it.  It is becoming increasingly unlikely that the project will go ahead, especially given that Adrian Dix is almost sure to become premier of BC after the election next spring and is dead set against it.  Even if Christy Clark's Liberals somehow pulls off a miracle win, they will be under a lot of pressure to stop the deal.  The federal government does have jurisdiction over the project, but as the article says, winning seats in British Columbia is key to the Conservatives winning their next election.  So in the end the pipeline will probably not get built, at least not anytime soon, and rightly so.

On to the Quebec election, in her column today Chantal Hebert writes about the surprising number of people who tuned into the provincial election debates.  It was an unusual format this year with four debates, the first with the leaders of all four of the main parties, and then three nights of debates featuring head-to-head duels between the leaders of the three parties with the potential to win.  As she suggests, the debates were useful in that by changing between formats, viewers were able to get a more complete view of the leaders and their ideas.  Debates are often the only opportunity the voters have during an election campaign to see the leaders speak unscripted.  They also give viewers a chance to see the leaders answer questions they would usually avoid.  So it would be great to see more debates become common practice across Canada.