Stephen Harper began his three-day trip to China on Wednesday; a trip that is seen by many as an opportunity to foster more economic ties with Canada's second largest trading partner. With that in mind, the Prime Minister has taken an large entourage of over 40 Canadian business executives including Patrick Daniel: the CEO of Enbridge inc.
At their last meeting, the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District Board bemoaned the rhetoric coming from Ottawa which they felt showed that the Federal Government had give up all pretence of being impartial on the question of the Northern Gateway Pipeline; a project that would see a big increase in the amount of petroleum sold to China by Canada.
The trade mission comes while the controversial project still remains before the non-partisan National Energy Board, and a couple days after First Nations protested the pipeline in Prince Rupert. Hearings on the project will be taking place in Prince Rupert on the 17 and 18 of this month.