The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Dec. 4, edition that in Ontario and Quebec there is widespread concern about the environmental damage TransCanada's Energy East pipeline could cause if a pipe ruptures into the St. Lawrence. A Globe editorial notes that huge volumes of oil are already moving on and around the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. The novelty in Energy East will be the direction of the oil flow, not the oil itself. The Globe cites two refineries along the St. Lawrence that together process 402,200 barrels of oil per day. These refineries have been around for decades. These refineries traditionally import oil from overseas. The Globe says the status quo is far from a no-oil scenario. Today, a lot of oil is moving by rail instead of by safer pipelines. When the reversal of Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline is completed, Montreal will be the terminus for a 300,000-barrel-per-day pipe from Western Canada. That means domestic oil can replace oil that is currently imported. Instead of tankers bringing in foreign oil to Canada, some of the same ships could soon be exporting it overseas. Because oil is already moving along the St. Lawrence, the real debate should be about safety issues.