Northern Gateway pipeline decision expected after markets close today
Posted June 17, 2014 6:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – Environmentalists and the markets will be watching today as the federal government announces whether the Northern Gateway pipeline project can go ahead.
The decision on the project is expected to come down after markets close.
There are hints the feds will be giving a “green light.” They come from high up: Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford for one and Finance Minister Joe Oliver for another.
Oliver has said that diversifying Canada’s energy markets is an “obvious strategic imperative” for the country and critical for the national economy.
But there is a chance the federal government may throw us a curveball; word out of Alberta is the feds could delay the decision.
Kevin Usselman with our station in Calgary, 660News, says Enbridge, the company behind Northern Gateway, would love the go-ahead but a delay wouldn’t be the end of the world.
“If you do another three or six months’ public consultation, I don’t think that would really be a blow to the project. Let’s face it: We’ve been waiting almost six years now for a decision out of the White House regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, and that hasn’t stopped activity in trans-Canada,” points out Usselman.
But he doesn’t think any delay would make a difference for critics who are suggesting at least here in BC that they may try to use a referendum to block the project from going ahead.
The $7-billion pipeline is worth an estimated $300-billion in GDP over the next 30 years and a joint national energy and environmental board did recommend approval back in December.
However the pipeline — which would stretch from Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat to ship bitumen by supertanker down the coast — does face stiff opposition from environmental groups and First Nations, which have threatened court challenges if the project goes ahead.
Premier Christy Clark has said the project still has not met the five conditions the province has laid out for approval, including strict environmental protections, adequate consultations with First Nations, and that BC receives a “fair share” of the benefits.
