Canada feuds over oil pipelines

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OTTAWA, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Canadian federal government said it wasn't going into specifics regarding provincial disputes over planned oil pipelines for the west of the country.

Pipeline company Enbridge is among the energy players seeking to build or expand oil pipelines that would carry so-called tar sands oil from Alberta province to ports in British Columbia for export to Asian markets.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark called for greater consideration for the regional environment while also calling for a "fair share" of the economic benefits that would reflect the provincial burden.

Stockwell Day, a former lawmaker from British Columbia and former federal minister, was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying the federal government was reluctant to step into provincial matters.

"I think what you're going to see is the prime minister, through any number of channels, have the provinces -- Alberta and British Columbia -- to work this out," he said.

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said this week that environmental issues would play a role in federal decisions. He sidestepped the issues on provincial issues, however, saying he didn't "want to get into that specific issue at this time."