EDMONTON – A spokeswoman for Rachel Notley says the Alberta premier will visit British Columbia on Monday.
Cheryl Oates confirmed the visit would occur when she was asked via text over the weekend, but did not respond to emails asking for details.
Notley said last week that she would be heading to B.C. as early as this week to make the case for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced federal approval of Trans Mountain last Tuesday.
Trans Mountain still has to clear regulatory hurdles and faces stiff opposition in B.C. from environmentalists, First Nations and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The project proposes to triple the bitumen-carrying capacity of the pipeline from near Edmonton to Burnaby, and increase the number of tankers leaving the Vancouver-area.
Notley said Wednesday that it was important for her to go to B.C. and tell people who link the pipeline with climate change and greenhouse gas that Alberta’s climate change leadership plan “effectively delinked those issues.”
Notley’s government is making changes to environmental, electrical and tax rules to reduce Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions and move toward renewable energy sources.
The new pipeline will be safer than moving oil by rail, she said.
Trudeau said approval of Trans Mountain would not have been possible without Alberta’s plan.
The prime minister also approved the replacement of an aging Enbridge line from Alberta to Wisconsin, but rejected the proposed Northern Gateway line from Alberta through northwestern B.C.