Ottawa, ON – Earlier today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ottawa and Alberta aimed at getting a new west coast pipeline built to get bitumen oil from Alberta’s oil sands to the B.C. coast, and ultimately to Asian markets.
The MOU includes special exemptions for Alberta from federal environmental laws passed during the Trudeau era, and would see Alberta adhere to a heightened industrial carbon tax regime and invest billions in carbon capture from the Pathways Alliance of oilsands companies.
Jay Goldberg, Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center, responded to the announcement.
“After months of Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiling so-called major national projects that were either not national in scope or already underway, the Carney government is finally getting on board with a major national project that would bring economic growth and encourage greater economic diversification, two things the Canadian economy badly needs.
“This is the right move for the future of Canada’s economy and Canada’s energy industry. Importantly, the Eby government in British Columbia should not try to blockade this project any further and should get on board with the positive momentum a new pipeline would bring to the Canadian economy writ large,” said Goldberg.
The Carney government had previously committed to giving the B.C. government a veto over a new pipeline that goes through British Columbia, despite the fact that the Canadian constitution gives the federal government, not the provinces, the exclusive right to approve of projects that cross provincial boundaries. The MOU contains wording about cooperation with B.C., but not a veto.
“Canadian consumers want big things to get done in Canada that improves their lives and their pocketbooks, and a new bitumen pipeline to Canada’s west coast would represent exactly that. It’s high time to move this project forward and ignore the obstructionist voices that are holding back Canada’s economic potential,” concluded Goldberg.
