OTTAWA - The Liberal government's push to make climate change impacts part of the assessment process for new national resource projects faces its final hurdle today. Bill C-69 is back in the Senate for another vote after the House of Commons rejected more than half of the 200-plus amendments proposed by the upper house. Also back in the Senate facing its final decision is Bill C-48, which imposes a ban on oil tankers off the northern coast of British Columbia. The two [Read more]
Headlines
Canada’s Conservative leader unveils climate plan without carbon pricing
Canada's Conservative Party leader unveiled his long-awaited climate and environmental plan on Wednesday that would eliminate the current federal carbon pricing program and focus on promoting green technologies. For more than a year, Conservative chief Andrew Scheer, who is currently leading in the polls, has been promising to deliver a climate plan that would replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's so-called "carbon tax." "More and more Canadians are starting to realize that paying a tax [Read more]
Protests, legal challenges planned to block Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
VANCOUVER - Opponents of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion are preparing for a long summer of legal challenges and protests aimed at blocking the project from being built. Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation says it will file a legal challenge in the Federal Court of Appeal and he is confident the First Nation will be successful after Ottawa approved the project on Tuesday. Squamish Nation Coun. Khelsilem says his band is also prepared for legal action and Vancouver [Read more]
Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion may start in September
CALGARY, Alberta/WINNIPEG, Manitoba, June 19 (Reuters) - Construction on expanding the Trans Mountain oil pipeline could begin in September, assuming the next regulatory steps go smoothly, the project's chief executive said on Wednesday. The $7.4 billion project was stalled a year ago after a Canadian court ruled the federal government, which also owns Trans Mountain, failed to adequately consult indigenous groups. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday reapproved the expansion, cheering [Read more]
Federal cabinet ministers visit Edmonton, Calgary, in wake of TMX approval
EDMONTON - Two federal cabinet ministers are making appearances in Alberta today following the Trudeau government's controversial second approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi is set to visit Trans Mountain Corp.'s terminal in Edmonton, while Finance Minister Bill Morneau will address an Economic Club of Canada breakfast in Calgary. The appearances in oil-rich Alberta come a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave approval to build [Read more]
BC’s new mandatory closure timelines will keep companies hopping to meet first quota in 2021 – XI Technologies
Each week, XI Technologies scans their unique combination of enhanced industry data to provide trends and insights that have value for professionals doing business in the WCSB. If you'd like to receive our Wednesday Word to the Wise in your inbox, subscribe here. In a move that other western Canadian provinces will be watching and likely echoing, the BC Oil and Gas Commission (the Commission) has announced the Dormancy and Shutdown Regulation and Comprehensive Liability Management Plan (CLMP) [Read more]
Federal Cabinet Approval of Trans Mountain Pipeline Project is only one Hurdle of Many the Canadian Government Needs to Jump
CALGARY, AB (June 18, 2019) – The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) acknowledges the federal government’s approval of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP) but notes there are more hurdles for the government to cross before the pipeline will be built. Gary Mar, President and CEO of PSAC, says, “The federal government was right to approve the TMEP. Poll after poll has shown that the majority of Canadians support this project, including an Abacus poll(1) which reported in [Read more]
B.C. First Nation plans legal challenge over Trans Mountain decision
VANCOUVER - A British Columbia First Nation is promising a legal challenge of the federal government's decision to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, while the premier says his government will continue to defend the province's coast. Environment Minister George Heyman told a news conference Tuesday that tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity are at risk from a bitumen spill. "Let me say to British Columbians who value our environment, who cherish [Read more]
Take two: Alberta lauds federal re-approval of Trans Mountain pipeline project
EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is lauding the federal government's decision to approve for a second time the construction of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project. But Kenney says he won't be celebrating until shovels are in the ground and the project, which triples the capacity of the existing line, is built. Kenney also says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to do more on other fronts to the get more Canadian oil to global markets. He reiterated his call for [Read more]
Business leaders welcome pipeline approval but fear it may not be completed
CALGARY - Ottawa's approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion pleased business leaders on Tuesday but they say they will hold off on popping champagne corks until construction begins on new pipe from Edmonton to the West Coast. "It was essential to show the world that our country can get major infrastructure projects approved," said CEO Tim McMillan of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers at an afternoon news conference. "It is now essential we show the world we can get [Read more]