Canada’s oil sands are key to the country’s prosperity and for it to grow, the industry needs more pipelines, more collaboration, and dialogue that does not fuel “a climate of antagonism,” said a report by Deloitte Canada.

“Proponents of development argue in favour of the economic benefits while opponents argue those benefits aren’t worth the environmental risk,” said the report, entitled Gaining Ground in the Sands 2013. “From our perspective, growth of oil sands is key to continued growth in Canadian prosperity.

“The constructive argument is really over how to develop the oil sands…not whether or not to develop them at all.”