TransCanada is back in the Maritimes, making a final pitch for public support before the company applies to build the $12-billion Energy East pipeline.    

The proposed route of the line through New Brunswick is being modified due to environmental concerns, but some say a project of that size could never be considered safe.

Some Saint John residents say the benefits outweigh the risks

“It’s going to create jobs,” says Don Shaw. “I've got grandchildren here and they are gonna need something to do in the future."

The proposed route places the pipeline near Hampton and entering Saint John from the east.

This route avoids crossing the St. John River in Saint John, unlike a major natural gas pipeline that was placed underneath the riverbed near the Reversing Falls.

Sharon Murphy, an environmentalist and Green Party candidate, doesn’t believe any route is safe.

She says the local economic benefits of the pipeline are being exaggerated to gain public support and regulatory approval.

"This pipeline is being built to ship the crude out to get the best price in the world market, and it is being built to avoid the environmental scrutiny that is going on right now in the states,” says Murphy.

TransCanada predicts Alberta oil will be flowing through the Energy East pipeline and reaching Saint John and the Bay of Fundy by late 2018.  

The construction industry is already doing some preliminary work to ensure the New Brunswick leg of the project is ready to go. Much of the work now is ensuring skilled people will be available if the project gets the green light.

"You gotta find the right people to fill those areas of expertise that you may or may not have, and they may not be readily available in the Saint John area or in New Brunswick,” says Stephen Beatteay of the Saint John Construction Association.

The route on display Wednesday may be the final route, but the National Energy Board still has to give its approval.

“Here in this vicinity I don’t think you’ll see radical changes, but that needs to be submitted to the National Energy Board,” says Philippe Cannon of TransCanada.

TransCanada says it will apply to the National Energy Board this summer for approval to build the pipeline.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron