ENERGY
Notley urges public to show support for pipeline
Premier Rachel Notley reiterated her pro-pipeline message Tuesday in the province’s industrial heartland, where she called on Albertans to shore up support for the Trans Mountain project.
“Not far from here is where the Trans Mountain pipeline originates, and where it has operated safely for decades,” she said in a speech to the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce.
“I need you to get on the phone and to get online ... Get the phones ringing in Ottawa, fill up those inboxes.”
Kinder Morgan Inc.’s $7.4-billion pipeline expansion was cast into doubt earlier this month when the company stopped non-essential spending and imposed a May 31 deadline to restore shareholder confidence.
Notley has repeatedly said she would do whatever it takes to get the pipeline to tidewater built, including buying the project outright.
She recently met with B.C. Premier John Horgan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said the federal government would start formal financial discussions with Kinder Morgan to remove uncertainty around the project.
Notley said she was pleased by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s show of support.
On Monday, he introduced legislation to bring in a permitting process for corporations to export energy outside of Saskatchewan. The Energy Export Act followed a similar move by Notley’s government, which introduced a bill to give the energy minister final say over crude oil, natural gas or refined fuels leaving the province.
“It underlines the fact this is an issue that matters to all Canadians ... It’s certainly helpful to get that indication from Saskatchewan,” Notley told reporters Tuesday after her speech.
She told the audience that support for the pipeline continued to grow and further entrenched her position, arguing that the only outcome to the political feud with B.C. is for Trans Mountain to break ground.
“Just last week, we saw polling out of B.C. that confirmed what we all know — an increasing majority of the residents of B.C. support this pipeline,” she said in her speech.