The Grande Prairie Petroleum Association believes the proclamation of Bill 12 by Premier Jason Kenney could give the relations between Alberta and BC the jump-start needed to get Alberta bitumen to tide water.
“At the end of the day we really do, in my mind, work together. But if we are being inadvertently land locked for no good reason, there have to be consequences.”
Bill 12, also known as the Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act, gives Alberta the power to restrict the export of natural gas, crude oil and refined fuels across its borders.
The bill requires companies to acquire licences to export petroleum products from Alberta, and if they fail to do so, could face fines of upwards of $10 million a day.
Petrone suggests happenings elsewhere in Canada show the exporting of oil from the coast should be a no brainer, but to this point has been met with roadblocks.
“When you take a look at what’s happening on the east coast and the importing oil. How can tanker traffic run up and down the St. Lawrence Seaway, but not on the west coast?.”
Premier Kenney said in a statement Wednesday that the bill does not mean the taps will be turned off immediately, as some to believe. However, he believes the proclamation shows the rest of the country Alberta means business.
B.C. Premier John Horgan says the province has already filed an injunction against Bill 12, calling it unconstitutional.