Here’s what to know about the energy agreement between Ottawa and Alberta
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have jointly agreed on a path forward for a new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast — a hugely significant development that the federal government is framing as a chance to further develop Alberta’s energy sector, diversify Canada’s economy and lessen dependence on the U.S.
The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding that lays out how Ottawa will facilitate the construction of a pipeline that will carry a million barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil patch to an export terminal on the Pacific coast, where that product will be shipped mostly to Asian markets.
The deal is “an example of co-operative federalism; we’re agreeing in partnership and in a spirit of trust,” Carney said after signing the document and meeting with unionized skilled trade workers in Calgary.
The prime minister said several things are required before the pipeline is built, including: a private-sector proponent, partnership and equity ownership for Indigenous peoples along the route, and an agreement that provides “substantial economic benefits” for B.C.
“This agreement with the government is just the first step in this journey, there is much more hard work to be done, trust must be built and earned in the partnership as we move through the next steps of this process,” Smith said at a news conference after signing the MOU.
The agreement stresses that this pipeline will be privately constructed and financed — unlike the publicly owned Trans Mountain — and the intention is to have some Indigenous co-ownership.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the agreement signed Thursday between the federal government and Alberta is ‘the first step’ and added that several things have to happen before a pipeline is built, including a private sector proponent and ‘full partnership including equity ownership’ with Alberta and B.C. First Nations and the province of B.C.
Ottawa is prepared to designate this pipeline as a project of “national interest,” which triggers powers under the Building Canada Act which Carney’s government passed in June.
That designation means the pipeline — and possibly the tankers associated with transporting the oil — could be exempted from some federal laws. Those include the Fisheries Act, the Species At Risk Act and the Impact Assessment Act.
Canada is committing to “collaborate with Alberta to provide a clear and efficient approval process for the Alberta bitumen pipeline,” according to the MOU.
Importantly, Alberta is promising to “collaborate with B.C. to ensure British Columbians share substantial economic and financial benefits of the proposed pipeline.”
Once some Indigenous consultation and negotiations with B.C. take place, Alberta, as the current proponent of this pipeline, will…
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