xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories / VANCOUVER
Ottawa bets on Alberta’s pipe dreams, throws BC, climate action & Indigenous consent under the bus
Lawyers at West Coast Environmental Law are expressing outrage at today’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the governments of Canada and Alberta, which commits to move forward with a new crude oil pipeline and tankers project on the northwest coast of BC and to use BC electricity – potentially without the province’s consent – to electrify the production of the bitumen that will be shipped through the project.
“This MOU is a slap in the face to BC, Coastal First Nations and all Canadians who care about making meaningful progress on the climate crisis,” said Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. “A northwest coast crude oil pipeline and tankers project would create an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic spill that would irreparably harm the marine environment and the coastal economies that depend on it. It would also create a carbon bomb that would make it impossible for Canada to reach its climate targets.”
The agreement includes several commitments from the federal government to scrap key environmental laws and regulations, including the oil and gas emissions cap and the application of federal Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta. If a pipeline is ultimately approved, the federal government has committed to create “an appropriate adjustment” to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act to allow crude oil tankers on the north Pacific coast. In exchange, the Alberta government pledges to work with Canada to strengthen industrial carbon pricing and advance other priorities like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
West Coast lawyers say a new bitumen pipeline is a pipe dream. Coastal First Nations have stated their unwavering opposition to the project, the Province of BC is staunchly opposed, and the last time this project was proposed it failed in court.
“The MOU requires private sector funding and construction of a new pipeline. The reason that there isn’t a proponent or private sector financing currently is because the business case is terrible. The Trans Mountain Expansion project had to be bailed out by the federal government and is set to lose Canadians about $20 billion. And that pipeline isn’t even full. The private sector won’t fund a future stranded asset, no matter how many laws are dismantled,” said Eugene Kung, Staff Lawyer.
Yesterday, 41 civil society groups including West Coast Environmental Law released a statement standing with Coastal First Nations and expressing unequivocal opposition to a northwest coast pipeline and tankers proposal. While today’s agreement confirms the federal government’s openness to pursuing this project, the proposal is certain to face significant opposition, legal and financial challenges and is currently very far from becoming a reality.
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For more information, please contact:
Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer
604-340-2304, ajohnston@wcel.org
Eugene Kung, Staff Lawyer
604-601-2514, ekung@wcel.org