Rival provinces differ about pipeline jobs
Some say they won’t make or break B.C. economy, Alberta leaders say boost would be significant
VANCOUVER— While the estimated jobs created by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion range from 15,000 to 800,000, industry leaders in British Columbia and Alberta stake opposing views on the economic impacts of the project.
In B.C., Mike Rowlands, president of consulting firm Junxion, questions the $4.5-billion purchase of the pipeline by the federal government, which said it was doing so to “create and protect jobs” in B.C. and Alberta.
Rowlands, who spearheaded a petition containing signatures from over 700 businesses and entrepreneurs opposing the pipeline expansion project, said many in the business community would rather see government invest in “high-growth” sectors such as green energy, technology and media production. “Not doubling down on industries that are clearly in sunset.”
The number of estimated jobs the expansion project will create in Alberta and B.C. varies between Kinder Morgan and the federal government.
According to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain website, out of the total number of 800,000 direct, indirect and “induced person-years” of employment over 20 years of the pipeline operation estimated by the Conference Board of Canada, most will be in Alberta.
A total of 441,000 jobs would be generated and, out of those, 14,600 would be construction jobs,13,340 are in pipeline operations, and 11,200 jobs will be generated by “dividend payments from oil producers.” Meanwhile, the company calculates another 400,600 jobs would be created “related to additional investments.” On the same website, the company also stated that B.C. would get an estimated 189,000 “personyears” including 36,000 during project development and 39,000 during operations. However, back in November 2016 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the approval of the pipeline expansion project, he said it would create 15,000 “middle-class jobs” mostly in the trades.
Todd Banks, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Sherwood Park — the central Alberta suburb where the Trans Mountain pipeline begins — said he was distressed it took the federal government stepping in to buy the pipeline to get the approved project built, but they’re “very appreciative” of the result.
Banks said for every one job created directly related to oil, whether through an upgrader or refinery, it means approximately six more spinoff jobs are created in the surrounding area.
“That could be a grocery store clerk, it could be extra staff at a hotel, there are many different ways jobs are increased as volume of sale increased at any retail outlet or service provider,” Banks said.
Another pipeline supporter is Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, who said the decision is a “winwin” for Canadians who now have “a piece of the energy pie for themselves.”
On the issue of the pipeline and its economic impact, the BC Federation of Labour has decided to remain quiet on the purchase, saying it doesn’t have “a formal position” because its member organizations have vastly opposing views. McGowan explained that public opinion in B.C. and Alberta are very different and understands why his colleagues in the B.C. labour movement are “treading more carefully.”
“There are a few dissenting voices here in Alberta,” McGowan said. “But the vast majority of Albertans both within the labour movement and outside of it are fully supportive of the pipeline in general and we’re even more supportive of the decision to buy the pipeline outright.”