Ottawa鈥檚 decision to green-light two major pipeline projects to transport crude to foreign markets is being hailed as a decisive win for Alberta鈥檚 ailing oil industry, but Premier Rachel Notley says her province still needs more energy export infrastructure.
Notley said the move represents 鈥渁 light at the end of the tunnel鈥� following a two-year downturn in oil prices that cost thousands of jobs, as producers and refiners tightened their belts to control costs.
Kinder Morgan鈥檚 $6.8-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C., and Enbridge鈥檚 $7.5-billion Line 3 pipeline replacement, from Alberta to Wisconsin, would increase the province鈥檚 pipeline capacity by more than 1.1 million barrels per day and create thousands of jobs and bolster Canada's role as a global energy player.
鈥淚t means we can get access to China and other Asia Pacific markets. It means we can get a much better price for our product. It means that we can be more economically independent from our neighbours to the south,鈥� she told CTV鈥檚 Power Play on Wednesday.
Notley said that while the increased export capacity is a move in the right direction for oil producers in her province, she does not consider Canada鈥檚 energy export needs fulfilled by the decision.
鈥淲e would like to have even more diversity in our market opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know New Brunswick would like to be able to invest in upgrading oil from Alberta. We would like to have people in Ontario buying oil from Alberta as opposed to offshore sources.鈥�
Notley鈥檚 interest in moving Alberta crude to Canada鈥檚 east coast through projects like the proposed Energy East pipeline may be inspired in part by the Liberal government鈥檚 rejection of the Enbridge-backed Northern Gateway pipeline in Tuesday鈥檚 announcement.
That project would have carried oil from Bruderheim, Alta., to an export terminal in Kitimat, B.C. Blocking Northern Gateway makes good on a key government promise to ban tanker traffic in B.C.鈥檚 northern waters.
However, building on momentum from Tuesday鈥檚 approvals may be a pipedream for Notley and Alberta鈥檚 energy industry. Tuesday鈥檚 announcement has been met with fierce opposition from environmental groups, First Nations leaders, and politicians.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May called the approval 鈥渁 terrible blow and a betrayal鈥� on CTV鈥檚 Power Play, immediately following the decision on Tuesday.
鈥淥f course I鈥檒l go to jail. I鈥檒l block pipelines. I鈥檒l stand shoulder-to-shoulder with First Nations. This is not an issue you compromise on,鈥� said May, a Vancouver Island MP and longstanding voice among Canadian environmentalists.
Hundreds of took to the streets of downtown Vancouver Tuesday night to protest the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
鈥淚 feel so betrayed, because this prime minister and this government engendered such hope in us,鈥� Vancouver City Councillor Adriane Carr told the crowd.
Notley credits her province鈥檚 plans to increase its carbon tax, cap oil sands emissions growth, and phase-out of coal-fired power by 2030 as a major driver behind Ottawa鈥檚 decision.
She believes these efforts are grounds to have the pipeline debate 鈥渄elinked from conversation around greenhouse gas emissions.鈥�
With files from CTV Vancouver
