EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Rachel Notley wants everyone to mark her words: the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will go ahead to deliver her province’s oil to the West Coast and jobs to British Columbia.
Notley says she doesn’t believe it makes much difference who is running B.C., because the federal government has already approved the Kinder Morgan (TSX:KML) project.
“The decision has been taken,” she said Tuesday when asked about the pipeline as she was announcing a new hospital for Edmonton.
“It’s been taken by the federal government. It was taken by a federal government that was committed to balancing and driving towards two goals at the same time: environmental sustainability and economic growth on behalf of the whole country.”
She said the pipeline is in the best interests of Albertans and all Canadians — but especially to British Columbians.
“Quite honestly the province of B.C. can’t grow solely on the basis of escalating housing prices in Vancouver and the Lower Mainlaind. They need stronger economic growth and the reality is that in Interior B.C., they need the jobs that this pipeline will provide.”
The future of the pipeline, which would nearly triple the capacity of an existing line running from Edmonton to Burnaby, has been questioned given a co-operation agreement between the B.C. New Democrats and Greens, which could lead to an NDP minority government. Both parties have voiced opposition to the project.
Notley said governments that care about working people put good jobs front and centre and “there, I know, we ultimately share a number of values with the emerging leadership in B.C.”
Alberta has long argued that it needs a pipeline to get more of its oil to the West Coast and from there to overseas markets.