There is a lot of talk in Ottawa that a new pipeline deal will soon be reached to carry Alberta oil to British Columbia's north coast.
Alberta and the federal governments are reportedly close to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to move the project forward.
It would include new or expanded port facilities in Prince Rupert or Kitimat, requiring at least a partial lifting of the North Coast tanker ban.
The federal government has said it will seek support for the project from the British Columbia government and First Nations, which currently oppose the ban.
“This government was elected to deliver nation-building projects, strengthen our economy, strengthen Canadian autonomy, promote prosperity for Indigenous peoples while promoting green economic growth,” said British Columbia Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson.
“We are working with all provinces, including Alberta, to achieve these common goals. The federal government is engaged in constructive discussions with the Alberta government and we will have something to say in a few weeks.”
The Alberta government announced this in October. plans to submit an application for the construction of a new oil pipeline to the northwest British Columbia.
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government will submit an application to the federal government next spring.
Alberta will take the lead, Smith explained, with support and technical advice from three oil pipeline companies: Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain.
Smith said Thursday they are seeing changes in the public dialogue about the need for oil and natural gas.
“We are doing technical work on a new pipeline to the northwest coast of British Columbia,” she said.
“We have the potential to do something similar to Churchill in the economic corridor from the Port of Prince Rupert to Churchill. We're getting proposals about how we could export oil to Thunder Bay and take it through the canal system there, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, and also ship oil by rail to Sydney, Nova Scotia. So I'm very excited about all this talk.”
Smith said the world will need more oil and she hopes a Memorandum of Understanding will come out of Ottawa soon.
“We know we have some more work to do on the technical side to be able to submit our pipeline proposal to the major projects office for review,” she added.
“We're aiming for that in the spring. And if we do come to an agreement with the federal government, we'll be sure to let you know. But I'm still very hopeful that our negotiations will continue.”
However, British Columbia's Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions Adrian Dix said the memorandum of understanding does not change anything.
“There's no supporter, no route, it doesn't make any economic sense and you'll have to lift the ban on tankers“, he said.
Hedy Fry, MP for Vancouver Centre, said Thursday she doesn't think the provincial government will agree to a pipeline to the North Shore.
“I think the criteria for accepting such a project, I think the prime minister was clear. I mean, right here, the province has to agree to it, First Nations have to agree to it first. So we'll see what they say,” she said.
MP Andrew Scheer, leader of the House of Conservatives, said on Thursday during the review period that one way to increase trade with other countries would be to build a pipeline to the British Columbia coast.
“But of course, if the transportation ban remains in place, no one will be able to actually export what comes through the pipeline,” he said.
“The Liberals have made it illegal to transport Canadian energy off the west coast of Canada. Does this law also prohibit American tankers from traveling through the same territory?”
Hodgson responded that Canada has a tremendous opportunity to become a leading energy superpower, but it needs to be done right.
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