What does this mean for Alberta?
The Line 3 pipeline project proposed a rebuild of the current pipeline—one that will increase production capacity to the US—while the Trans Mountain pipeline will enable Canadian oil companies to send more oil to Pacific markets. Both may mean granting Canadian companies access to better prices, which would directly address the source of Alberta’s current and longstanding economic recession.
While relieved by an approval that could mean long awaited progress for the industry, many within the oil and gas industry are hesitant to get too hopeful. While these projects are an important step, there are projects still pending approval that carry a lot more weight for the industry, like the Keystone XL pipeline to the US or the Energy East pipeline to Canada’s east coast – both projects that could provide “strategically imperative access” to Gulf oil reserves and an efficient and impacting connection to oil markets.
So why the controversy?
While many in Alberta—particularly those with connections to the oil and gas industry—are excited for work to begin on two pipeline projects that could mean movement for a stagnant economy, many are also concerned about the environmental impacts of approving two tar sands projects.
According to sources, Trudeau made it very clear that approval for the pipeline projects would only be granted if Alberta’s new climate change plan was followed precisely.
The Alberta climate change plan caps oilsands emissions at 100 megatonnes per year with a phased in carbon tax—a tax that is creating a controversial stir in itself amongst the oil and gas industry. Carbon taxing is scheduled to begin in 2017, starting at $20 per tonne. In 2018 it will increase to $30 per tonne.
However, while stricter environmental policies have been put in place—and followed to the point of rejecting both the Northern Gateway pipeline and imposing a tanker ban off of BC’s North Coast—many environmental authorities are concerned that these two approvals have pushed Trudeau’s campaign promises for the environment, the Paris accord, and First Nations reconciliation further out of reach.
Where does Alberta go from here?
Following the success of the Standing Rock protests, a murmur of concern for the potential of similar protests to begin within Canadian borders is prevalent. However, the stark line between industry and the environment that the Prime Minister is being forced to navigate may be a bit too sharp for the beginnings of movements that should be working towards an accord—not just between First Nations communities and the federal government, but also between industry and environment. Choosing between one and the other isn’t a productive means of solution for either side of the issue, and the current means of slowly integrating the two promises to be productive of controversy on both sides.
