Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have given approval to two pipeline projects. A nod has been given to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, as well as the Line 3 project put forward by Enbridge. The Northern Gateway project has been rejected by the federal government.
The Line 3 project will see a line running from Hardisty, Alberta, through Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the United States, replaced by a new line, twice the capacity of the existing pipe.
The approved projects would add almost a million more barrels of oil moving from Alberta to global markets a day. Trudeau says Canada needs to increase its pipeline capacity.
“In order to prevent oil from travelling by rail across our country. The fact is, that increases danger to communities, it increases emissions, and it is more expensive as a way of getting oil to markets.”
Trudeau also described the Line 3 projected as “much-needed” and said it would create jobs and renew infrastructure. A moratorium on crude oil shipments along British Columbia’s north coast was also promised, with legislation to come shortly.
Trudeau says Trans Mountain’s proposal could not have been OK’d without the leadership of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.
“The Alberta climate plan with a ceiling of 100 megatonnes of emissions is an integral part of Canada being able to reach its targets, and these new pipelines fit within that target.”
A statement from Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on the matter thanked the Prime Minister for the approval of the projects.
“Our province has been brutally slammed by the collapse in commodity prices,” said Notley, in the statement.
“It has been a long, dark night for the people of Alberta as a result.Today we are finally seeing some morning light.We are getting a chance to break our landlock. We’re getting a chance to sell to China and other new markets at better prices. We’re getting a chance to reduce our dependence on one market, and therefore to be more economically independent. And we’re getting a chance to pick ourselves up and move forward again.”
With files from James Wood, 106.1 The Goat