The federal government is advancing the process to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as a “national interest” project.
Naming a project in the national interest under the Building Canada Act allows the government to fast-track approvals and skirt some environmental laws.
A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 1 sets a Sept. 18 deadline to submit comments on the national interest designation.
The proposed pipeline project has been referred already to the government’s major projects office, with the Alberta government listed as the proponent.
The pipeline would be owned by Trans Mountain, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Pembina Pipeline Corporation.
Pembina has a 10 per cent ownership stake in the construction, with an option to purchase an additional 10 per cent once the pipeline is operational.
The government’s notice says Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc will work with the Alberta and B.C. governments on the project while consultations with Indigenous communities are underway.
Julia Levin, an associate director at Environmental Defence, criticized the government for quietly beginning this process during a long weekend.
“Over the weekend, while Canadians across the country are dealing with raging wildfires and the aftermath of severe flooding and heat waves, Prime Minister (Mark) Carney quietly moved forward with his oil pipeline plans,” Levin said in a statement.
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“It’s no wonder he didn’t want to draw attention to this environmentally and economically risky project, and the breakneck speed at which he wants to get it approved without due oversight.”
NDP Leader Avi Lewis called the pipeline project “corporate welfare on a surreal scale” and pointed out that it is not being backed primarily by the private sector.
“For Canadians across this land, it is a kick in the teeth to call this climate bomb of a project ‘in the national interest,'” Lewis said in an emailed statement.
“It is in big oil’s interest, for sure. But it doesn’t do a damn thing for people struggling with the cost of food and housing, increased costs from privatized health care, and of course the daily anxiety of climate breakdown.”
The government’s definition of “national interest” includes projects that can strengthen “Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security,” provide economic benefits, have a high likelihood of success, advance Indigenous interests and contribute to “clean growth” and meeting Canada’s climate change goals.
The proposed pipeline is a central component of an energy agreement between the federal and Alberta governments.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre pipeline would carry upwards of one million barrels of crude oil from Bruderheim, Alta. to a port near Delta, B.C. for shipment to international markets.
The Conservatives helped the government pass the Building Canada Act more than a year ago and the government has so far moved three projects toward the national interest designation.
Those projects are the Grays Bay road and port project in Nunavut, the Mackenzie Valley Highway in the Northwest Territories and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s deep geological repository in northern Ontario.
It boggles my mind that the government can just slap a slogan on a project like “National Interest”, which gives it an automatic green light without proper oversight and environmental checks and balances. We are dealing with extreme heat waves, insane wildfires, Provincial drought and water restrictions. Our orcas are on the brink of extinction due to lack of food and increased shipping noise. People are suffering with food insecurity, lack of affordable housing and struggling to meet basic needs. 1 in 4 seniors are homeless. 1 in 5 kids are living in poverty and unable to eat proper meals. Gas is over $2/L. What is our governments answer to human suffering and ecological breakdown? A bitumen pipeline that will cost over $40 BILLION?? What has the TMX brought us since its been tripled? None of the recommendations were put into place as promised. Gas has dramatically increased. No one is better off since TMX was tripled and cost taxpayers over $36BILLION. But the gas industry has made billions more since. Who is the Canadian government working for? Its not Canadians. This is corrupt and I hope the First Nations fight the hell out of it. They are the only ones that care about our ecosystems and future generations health. Carney is a CON in Liberal clothing.
Another 30 billion wasted. The last Pipeline only ended up creating 400 jobs. You could give 30k people one million dollars each to start thousands of new business for the same amount of money.
We barely even charge royalties on the oil sold out of our country. Its a huge scam.
Alberta should lose these projects if they vote to separate.
Oh of course it does! Carney is sucking up to her huge! Well, better suck up to the hereditary bums in BC first. Without them on side, you can kiss your pipeline goodbye. Eby is just another flop waiting.
Moving slower than goddang molasses.. my lord
Anonymous at 12:49. There is no way that Qeubec allows a pipeline to NB. We send crude south to the US becsuse they have massive amounts of refineries. Now we have to look elsewhere. And through Québec is not an option.
PP is at 18% now.
That ties him for second with “undecided.”
Nice useless trolls here though.
Canada does have an oil refinery in NB. I am amazed that people still fail to fact check these things.
This is vote buying and the liberals kissing Cairney’s chocolate star fish eat it up like the media! Prime Minister CABO ( Carney Always Bends Over). People need to wake up to this growing disaster that Canadians are buying into. To much media driven propaganda for the Liberals!
Canaduuhhhhhhh we don’t have refineries here. And we need to export our resources. We need the jobs and we need to sell to countries other than the USA.
I think Ben is still sitting on Carney’s 🍆 right at this very moment, all while obsessing over Pierre who lives in his head rent free . And Lane is in the corner watching 😂😂😂😂
I don’t know why everybody gets so excited over a pipeline for some big oil company. How does this benefit the average Canadian in any way. You think they’re going to start giving you free tuitions at school or food’s going to get cheaper. This is so they can ship oil out of the country and make money that will do nothing for the average Canadian
You libbies luuuuv eating turd, don’t ya
Where is Poilievre? He said the government wouldn’t do this. He’s probably busy eating his words, or munching on an apple wondering why he isn’t PM.
Keep sucking carnholes dck Libby scumbags
Lets all mock Pierre while ignoring that the first three initiatives that Carney announced after winning the Liberal nomination was to take three major policy initiatives from Pierre’s platform.
Duh! After 12 years they’re just waking up! LoL
This pipeline is in the interests of Alberta Big Oil and is not in the public interest. The taxpayer owes this pipeline nothing.
Where’s that axe the tax dude? Hopefully he is staying away from choking on an apple for his own safety. We need him around. Wink wink.
Waste of time, 🔥 will whine.
Way to go Carney!!
I am glad people elected you while they made me lose my seat. I guess voters knew I am only good for 3 word slogans but nothing else. Hopefully the cons will keep me around longer for much the same i am good for.
You are posting too quickly, slow down. Global joke news.
Great news. Of course the Poilievre conservatives who block everything in parliament will find fault with this as they always do.
How about lookin at what she is doing to the disabled and seniors in Alberta,this position is not what holds this country together. But oil is!?
Annyone believing Carney when it comes to the resource sector should get their head checked. He devoted an entire chapter on pro carbon tax in his 2021 book Value(s): Building a Better World for All. He advised Trudeau just 4 years ago to say no to request from Germany and Japan to buy our LNG, saying that there was no business case for it. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars has he spent the last year traveling trying to sell those same exact deals? During the Liberal party process to replace Trudeau he stole credit from Jim Flaherty for the work that was done in the 2008 subprime market slowdown.
He cannot be trusted.
lots of talk, no action, thats the liberals for you
Folks here carrying on as if acquiring infrastructure can be done by just picking it up at a store. Tell everyone that your clueless about how the world works without telling everyone that your clueless.
Why should anyone else listen to you if you are that uninformed? It was better when ignorant people did not have platforms to share whatever defiant thought came into their head.
A year later still nothing has been started. Carney still “thinking” about it. I thought this was an existential crisis. What a joke.
I find it odd that we have to have a Russian style Gosplan, or a central planning office. This and the Carbon tax (industrial) needs to end.
I’ll believe it when I see shovels in the ground, but doubtful.