Northern Gateway Approved: Canada's Harper Gives Federal OK to 'Bloodline of Tar Sands'

In the face of widespread opposition, Canada’s federal government on Tuesday gave the OK to Enbridge’s Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline.

The nearly 1,200-kilometer pipeline would carry tar sands crude from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia.

CBC News reports that the project is “subject to 209 conditions recommended by the National Energy Board and further talks with aboriginal communities.”

The project has been fiercely opposed, and First Nations communities have vowed to stop the project, regardless of federal approval.

“Stopping the Northern Gateway pipeline is one of the most important fights we have right now,” Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, said in a statement.

“Pipelines are the bloodlines of the tar sands. If we allow Northern Gateway to go ahead, it will mean a massive expansion of the tar sands, more harm to the land, water and climate, and yet another delay for the clean energy future we need,” Barlow stated.