NOTLEY BLASTS OTTAWA OVER BILL THAT REVAMPS ENERGY APPROVAL PROCESS.

ALBERTA PREMIER BLASTS OTTAWA OVER BILL THAT REVAMPS ENERGY APPROVAL PROCESS

CALGARY• Ina dramatic change int one, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Tuesday publicly blasted the federal government’s bill to overhaul the regulatory process for natural resource projects.

The premier has long been publicly aligned with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals on energy and environmental issues, including the imposition of carbon taxes and encouraging more renewable energy.

But in front of 1,500 people at the International Pipeline Conference, Notley took shots at Bill C-69, which would reorganize the armslength National Energy Board into the Canadian Energy Regulator and establish a new Canadian Impact Assessment Agency for resource project reviews.

“We need to stop the regulatory merrygo-round, not supercharge it,” Notley said, adding the bill could result in longer regulatory timelines for pipelines and other resource projects instead of shorter reviews.

“In its current form, Bill C-69 hurts Alberta,” she said, adding the province views aspects of the bill as a federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction.

“Albertans manage energy. That is an Albertan birthright.”

IN ITS CURRENT FORM, BILL C-69 HURTS ALBERTA.

“I’m not quite ready to file a statement of claim yet,” Notley said when asked if Alberta was prepared to challenge the bill in court. She didn’t rule out the possibility.

Canadian Energy Pipelines Association president and CEO Chris Bloomer echoed the view.

“We’ve said from the outset that this bill does not secure the type of certainty the government was trying to achieve,” Bloomer said.

Still, at least one major energy infrastructure project will go through the current regulatory process.

“As soon as get a few of our pieces together, we’d like to start (the regulatory process) sometime in 2019,” said Calvin Helin, a member of Lax Kw’alaams band and chairman of Eagle Spirit Energy Holding Ltd., which has proposed a First Nations-owned pipeline corridor through northern British Columbia.

The corridor, which includes two 40-inch oil pipelines and two 40-inch natural gas pipelines, is being pushed through the regulatory process all at once, according to Helin.

“The issue with that right now is with Bill C-69 — nobody knows what is in that box,” Helin said.

The Lax Kw’alaams band on the B.C. coast has also filed a writ to quash Ottawa’s Bill C-48, which would implement a moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the area.

Helin expects to unveil a slate of experienced oil and gas executives joining Eagle Spirit in management roles in October, and he’s working on securing supply agreements to fill the pipelines.

Over the past several months, various Alberta ministers have written letters to their federal counterparts raising concerns over Bill C-69. The premier’s speech Tuesday marks the first time those concerns have been aired directly as Notley is demanding changes — including that the federal government exclude consideration of downstream emissions from pipeline project reviews — in the language of the bill, rather than assurances from meetings with federal ministers.

“They understand our concerns, but we don’t see that in writing,” Notley said, adding, “I support the intent (of the bill) but you need to make sure you engage very clearly to make sure you don’t kill yourself with good intentions.”

Alberta Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips are expected to appear before the Senate to go over the bill’s deficiencies, Notley said.

“For industry, how can they plan a project when they don’t know (what the processes are) either? What we’re looking for is clarity,” McCuaig-Boyd said.

Notley also said they wanted Ottawa to adhere to the 22-week timeline set out last week for a new regulatory process for the Trans Mountain pipeline.

“Albertans will not tolerate missed deadlines and shifting goalposts,” Notley said in her speech.