NEW!! Corporate Profile of Enbridge Inc.

New Report Exposes Enbridge Inc’s Destructive Gamble on Eve of Annual Meeting of Shareholders

OTTAWA, ON – In advance of Enbridge Inc.’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for Wednesday, May 5th, the Polaris Institute and the Indigenous Environmental Network are releasing a new corporate profile [1] of the company. In the profile, Enbridge Inc’s dirty tar sands gamble is exposed as potentially dangerous in terms of its impacts on the environment and First Nations communities.

The new 69 page profile, Out on the Tar Sands Mainline: Mapping Enbridge’s Web of Pipelines, raises serious questions about the company’s role in relation to the tar sands industry, and especially its future plans to open up Asian markets for dirty tar sands crude via the controversial Gateway pipeline. The profile explores the social costs of this game plan on First Nations communities and the environment and how, based on its track record, Enbridge will use its political clout, revolving door mechanisms and strategic donations to First Nations communities to carry its plans forward.

“For some, Enbridge Inc. is viewed as a provider of natural gas to heat homes and businesses, and to many this company is completely unknown” explains Richard Girard, Research Coordinator of the Polaris Institute. “However, this new company profile clearly shows that below the surface Enbridge Inc. has been, and continues to be, one of the key facilitators of the growth of the entire tar sands industry.”

The profile includes specific details on:
- recurring pipeline leaks that have caused environmental damage;
- the ongoing expropriation of First Nations land;
- widespread political lobbying and influence in Canada and the United States;
- interference in local community decision-making through financial contributions and projects.

“Given Enbridge’s track record, it is not a matter of if an oil leak on First Nations land will occur, but rather when it will happen again,” states Marty Cobenais, of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Access the report here: http://www.tarsandswatch.org/files/EnbridgeProfile.pdf [1]

-30-

For more information or to arrange interviews contact:
Richard Girard, Polaris Institute, 613-237-1717 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              613-237-1717      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              613-237-1717      end_of_the_skype_highlighting x105, Richard@polarisinstitute.org [2]

Marty Cobenais, Indigenous Environmental Network, 218-760-0284, martyc@ienearth.org [3]

About the Polaris Institute (www.tarsandswatch.org [4]): The Polaris Institute is a non-partisan organization engaged in research and advocacy on public policy issues.

About the Indigenous Environmental Network (www.ienearth.org [5]): IEN is a network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.