Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to harness a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to become a "world-leading energy superpower" by building an oil pipeline from her province to B.C.'s north coast.
So, she announced on Wednesday that her government is providing $14 million for pipeline planning, adding that after recent conversations with Prime Minister Mark Carney, she is "more optimistic than ever."
But B.C. Premier David Eby points out that there is no private proponent, which is why Alberta must use tax dollars to fund planning for the project.
"Which should tell you everything you need to know about the reality of this project," he said at an unrelated press conference in Langford on Wednesday, Oct. 1. "It is not a real project."
First Nations on B.C.'s coast oppose the removal of the heavy oil tanker ban in the area's waters that was implemented by the federal government in 2019. A pipeline project would need the removal of this ban.
“As the rights and title holders of B.C.’s north and central coast and Haida Gwaii, we must inform Premier Smith once again that there is no support from Coastal First Nations for a pipeline and oil tankers project in our coastal waters," says a written statement from Marilyn Slett, who leads a coalition of six area nations. Slett is also the chief of the Heiltsuk Nation.
Smith acknowledged that a pipeline cannot be built to the north coast with this ban in place, and that companies have told her they will not "sink billions of dollars" into a new pipeline with the ban in place.
Eby said this ban is not under threat. He continued with the message that the two provinces should work on "shovel-ready projects," as opposed to theoretical ones.
But because Eby refuses to say if he opposes a pipeline to the north coast under any circumstances, he continues to be questioned on the subject every time Smith pushes for a pipeline.
