New pipeline in Canada to proceed after C$150bn pledged to ease BC and First Nations concerns | Canada
The Canadian and Alberta provincial governments will move forward on a major new oil pipeline after the duo announced a plan to ease the concerns of British Columbia and First Nations on the Pacific coast.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney shuttled between British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday, announcing more than C$150 billion in new investments in both provinces; this was part of a broader project to reduce trade with the United States and expand his country’s presence in overseas markets.
Relying on the familiar framework of a “more dangerous and divided world,” Carney pledged to strengthen domestic industries and said in Vancouver that the country must “move faster, build bigger and work together.”
Carney has pledged billions of dollars for the expansion of the port in Vancouver, expansion of power infrastructure for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and new conservation investments for the endangered southern resident killer whale.
But the marquee project is a new pipeline that follows the route of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline before eventually diverting to a new terminal. According to the Alberta government, the project will transport 1 million barrels per day.
Carney said Canada and Alberta will be “equal partners” in the pipeline project and there will be a “meaningful ownership interest for Indigenous communities.” The two governments will also work to achieve “significant” methane reductions. Consultations with Indigenous communities, provinces and territories will begin immediately.
Carney said his government would keep in place the long-standing federal ban on tankers loading or unloading oil off British Columbia’s north coast; It’s an environmental protection measure that First Nations have long said is non-negotiable.
Alberta’s premier Danielle Smith, who has long advocated for a northern route that would require lifting the tanker ban, said Wednesday the planned southern route represents “the fastest, most cost-effective way to expand Canada’s energy exports.” Smith is also under increasing pressure from a separatist element in his province to show that Alberta can sign big energy deals with the federal government.
The switch from the northern pipeline to the southern route reflects both a major shift from Alberta and a recognition by governments that indigenous opposition would significantly slow down any new projects.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government will not fight the pipeline after “learning the hard way” when it lost a court battle over the original expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. He said the new agreement has strong safeguards and that residents “will be fairly compensated for the environmental risks we will assume in any new pipeline project.”
Marilyn Slett, chief of the Coastal First Nations and elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, called the announcement “a good day” following news that the tanker ban would continue.
“British Columbians, Canadians and First Nations who call this place home want this area protected. There is no technology that can clean up a marine oil spill, and a single oil spill could destroy our way of life,” he said in a statement. “Protecting our coasts is a source of economic prosperity, not an obstacle.”
Some First Nations have previously vowed to withdraw support for multibillion-dollar LNG projects if the 50-year tanker ban is lifted.
The Climate Action Network said it accepted Carney’s framing that Canada is “in a dangerous moment of geopolitical instability,” but said the biggest source of instability is climate change, not trading partners. “It is absolutely dangerous to continue expanding fossil fuel production while Canadians are already living with climate chaos,” the group said.
The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion represents one of the largest and most expensive infrastructure cost overruns in Canadian history. While the pipeline has proven to be strategically beneficial, it is unclear whether taxpayers will see a return on their investment. “If this was a smart economic initiative and there was a reasonable return on investment, a private company or companies would invest the money,” Chris Severson-Baker, chief executive of Canada’s independent clean energy think tank Pembina Institute, said in a statement. “Instead, Albertan and Canadian taxpayers will now bear 90% of the cost of this project, possibly reaching tens of billions of dollars.”
