BC pipeline not likely to be among Prime Minister Carney’s list

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce on Thursday which major infrastructure projects will be fast-tracked for approval, but a pipeline project in B.C. may not be among them.

Carney has mentioned the idea of an oil pipeline in the past when speaking about boosting the country’s energy sector.

UBC Political Science lecturer Stewart Prest says a pipeline is controversial, and the federal government knows that it needs to proceed carefully before potentially moving ahead.

“Including the effect of energy consumption and extraction on the environment, the consideration of Indigenous land claims and land rights within the country. Those things have not disappeared.”

He says that it might take a little more time before the federal government proposes a pipeline.

“It is going to be divisive, so it requires more work ahead of time, and we can not lose sight of the fact that it would require the cooperation of the private sector in some regard,” Prest said.

“We can’t just conjure up a business case for such a thing. And that’s the point that Premier Eby has made repeatedly.”

Prest says that Carney’s anticipated announcements surrounding mining and energy projects will be met positively by the provincial government in B.C. and the private sector.

In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the B.C. Premier’s office says while the province looks forward to the federal government’s list, it will continue to act independently from Ottawa to push forward tens of billions worth of “shovel-ready” major projects.

With files from Ben Bouguerra