RIGHT CALL ON LNG
The Trudeau government burnished its economic credentials with this week’s conditional approval of a liquefied natural gas project planned for British Columbia’s northwest coast.
Canadians should hope the federal Liberals will demonstrate similar good sense with their ruling on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline — a decision expected to be made around Christmas.
The Pacific NorthWest LNG project near Prince Rupert is worth up to $36 billion and is being billed as one of the largest infrastructure investments in Canadian history. If it moves forward — which is dependent on its investors’ final decision and compliance with 190 legally binding conditions — the plant would ship 19 million tonnes of LNG a year to Asia.
While the facility would pump 4.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, for the first time, there would be a cap imposed.
The Liberal government’s decision is encouraging, because it confirms it won’t allow environmentalists, aboriginals and other special interests to block projects that are in the best economic interest of the country. Certainly these groups need to be consulted, but they can’t be allowed to imagine they have a veto over such initiatives, which face robust environmental scrutiny.
It’s not surprising the government’s decision has disappointed those determined to hobble Canada’s economic prospects. Detractors are content to overlook the fact our greenhouse gas emissions are relatively inconsequential and that we must have private investment to sustain a functioning economy. It’s estimated the LNG facility will add nearly $2.4 billion per year to Canada’s GDP. It will create 4,500 jobs during construction and 330 positions to keep the project up and running.
Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose knows what’s at stake.
“This is a project that will create thousands of jobs, create billions of dollars in investments and it is a project that’s absolutely necessary for the prosperity of this country,” said Ambrose.
Despite its reluctance to be a so-called cheerleader for important infrastructure, there’s reason to believe the federal government knows how important projects such as LNG facilities and pipelines are to the economy.
The Liberals can continue their winning ways with approval of the $5.4-billion twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has operated safely for 63 years and is Canada’s only pipeline to the West Coast. Like the LNG application, Kinder Morgan’s project will pay dividends to Canadians for years to come.