The federal government and Alberta are targeting a fall date for Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet to designate a pipeline to the West Coast as being in the national interest, the National Post has learned. The designation is part of a memorandum of understanding being negotiated with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, which also involves Ottawa seeking an increase in the province's industrial carbon tax.
Details of the agreement
Details of the agreement, including a plan for Alberta to progressively raise its industrial carbon tax to $130 per tonne by 2040, are expected to be announced this week, possibly on Friday. The pipeline project aims to build a new one million barrel-per-day pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia's coast.
An Alberta government source confirmed that an agreement is in the works for the pipeline proposal to receive the national interest designation sometime this fall. This week's announcement is expected to include key dates for the proposal.
Context and challenges
The development comes as Alberta faces a potential separation question this fall, following a petition drive that collected over 300,000 signatures. The petition efforts are under investigation after a leak of the province's electors list to a separatist group.
Last year, Carney introduced the Building Canada Act, which grants cabinet the power to designate projects as being in the national interest, allowing for upfront approvals subject to conditions set by Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. The federal government has stated that this process does not change the obligation to consult with Indigenous peoples.
Carney's cabinet has not yet used these new powers for projects under review by the Major Projects Office, a body established last fall to streamline regulatory processes.
Alberta's proposal
Smith's United Conservative Party government plans to submit its proposal to the federal office by the end of June, exploring five different routes and working with major oilsands companies as advisors. The premier has expressed a desire for a decision by the fall. Her government has pledged $14 million to prepare the proposal and act as the initial proponent, with the goal of transferring to the private sector once approvals are secured.
Opposition
B.C. Premier David Eby has criticized the idea of a new pipeline through the province's northwest coast, citing a lack of a private sector proponent. Coastal First Nations have also rejected the construction of a new pipeline through the region and oppose any potential lifting of the oil tanker moratorium, which Carney has agreed to consider under the deal with Alberta.
