STOP ‘REGULATORY MERRY-GO-ROUND,’ NOTLEY SAYS
Current version of Bill C-69 stands to hurt Alberta’s competitive position: premier
Exacerbated.
If one word describes how most Albertans feel about the state of building pipelines today — and new federal legislation to oversee future ones — frustrated doesn’t quite capture the raw emotion coming to a boil in the province.
Anger is one word that fits. Exacerbation is another.
New projects are routinely delayed or killed. Capital investment has been stymied.
The discount on Canadian heavy oil is growing. Western Canadian Select crude was worth just a little more than half the price that U.S. benchmark light oil was fetching earlier this week.
The province and energy industry fear new federal legislation, known as Bill C-69, could effectively stop future pipelines from being built, if a company dared to propose one.
Speaking Tuesday at the International Pipeline Conference, Premier Rachel Notley dispensed with the diplomatic talk, roundly criticizing the obstacles facing pipelines and the incoming federal legislation overseeing major energy projects that is now before the Senate.
“We need to stop the regulatory merry-go-round, not supercharge it. We need to improve our competitive position, not make it harder to get things built,” she told almost 1,500 delegates who attended the conference.
“Bill C-69 in its current form stands to hurt our competitive position, so we are going to keep fighting for changes.”
Tough talk from a premier who still needs Ottawa’s help to get the embattled Trans Mountain expansion project across the finish line.
Although the province has lobbied the Trudeau government for months on the new Impact Assessment Act, Notley’s no-nonsense language signifies how furious Albertans are getting with stalled pipelines and a treadmill-like regulatory process that never seems to end.
Following a recent court ruling that struck down federal approval of the Trans Mountain expansion, the $7.4-billion project is now in limbo, months — or possibly years — behind its latest schedule.
Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement project is slowly moving ahead, but either the Keystone XL pipeline (which could start construction in 2019) or Trans Mountain will also be needed within a few years, and likely both over the long haul.
The premier will send her energy and environment ministers to Ottawa in the coming weeks to speak before the Senate and outline the province’s concerns. But Notley left no doubt where the province stands, declaring: “C-69 hurts Alberta.”
The premier painted the federal bill as a barrier to investment and a potential over-reach by the Trudeau government into areas of provincial jurisdiction on energy development.
First unveiled in February, the legislation is intended to overhaul how future energy projects will be evaluated.
Major developments, such as cross-border oil pipelines, will be reviewed by the new Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
The Liberal government contends the bill will reduce timelines and create a more comprehensive review process, examining a development’s impact on the environment, Indigenous communities, health, social and economic factors.
In an interview last month, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said the former regulatory review process with the NEB didn’t work and what’s coming will be better.
“I am very confident Bill C-69 will enable us to get good projects approved faster than what we have now,” he said.
That’s all fine and good, but there’s a not-so-subtle element of, ‘Trust us, Ottawa knows best,’ in those sentiments.
Trust is in short supply these days when it comes to building energy infrastructure.
Alberta says there is still not enough clarity on which developments the federal government intends to include in its designated project list for major examinations.
The province wants more details on the timelines, worried about the potential to extend the process between the early planning stages and a project’s formal review.
Notley said there’s also uncertainty that project assessments could ultimately review upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions tied to a pipeline, creating another barrier.
“I support their intent, but … ensure you don’t kill yourself with good intentions,” she later told reporters.
Canada already has serious problems building pipelines under the existing rules.
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association warned back in the spring that if the Impact Assessment Act goes ahead without changes, it would be difficult to imagine a new pipeline could be built in the country.
CEPA chief executive Chris Bloomer said Tuesday he welcomes the premier’s support on Bill C-69, saying the group’s key concerns haven’t been addressed.
“Fundamentally, if it doesn’t change, I think it just compounds ... the uncertainty and impression and fact that Canada is not attractive to foreign investment.”
Calvin Helin, chairman of Eagle Spirit Energy Holdings Ltd., which wants to build a First Nations-led energy corridor from Alberta to the northern B.C. coast, put it more succinctly: “With Bill C-69, nobody knows what’s in that box.”
Asked about the state of Canada’s pipeline sector, he was equally blunt: “It’s obviously terrible.”
Indeed, energy investment is lagging due to the pipeline gridlock.
With the price discount for Canadian heavy crude above US$34 a barrel on Monday, there’s little incentive for petroleum producers to increase capital spending if their oil is trapped by transportation bottlenecks.
“There is not a lot of optimism right now,” said Bloomer.
No, there isn’t.
And the exacerbation, frustration, anger — pick your poison — over stalled pipelines continues to fester.