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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have again approved the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, a crucial step for the pipeline project which has fallen far behind and which is expected to route close to one. million barrels of oil from the oil field from Alberta to British Columbia. coast every day.
The Cabinet confirmed the conclusion of the National Energy Board that while the pipeline may harm the environment and marine life, so does the national interest and could bring tens of billions of dollars to the coffers of the government and create and preserve thousands of jobs.
In addition to approving the project, Trudeau is also committed to allocating every dollar that the federal government earns to the pipeline – which, during its construction, represents about $ 500 million a year in Federal corporate income tax – to investments in unspecified energy projects.
The proceeds from the sale goes to green projects
Any proceeds from the potential sale of the pipeline will also be allocated to projects that would contribute to the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy.
"We must create wealth today in order to invest in the future.We need resources to invest in Canadians so that they can take advantage of the opportunities generated by a rapidly changing economy." at home and around the world, "said Trudeau.
Trudeau said the construction of the project, which will help move Canadian oil to lucrative Asian markets, will ensure that Canada will not be dependent on the sale of its natural resources to a single customer – the United States.
"As we have seen in recent years, anything can happen to our neighbors to the south," Trudeau said. "At this moment, we are prisoners on the American market."
The federal Liberal government announced Tuesday that it would now begin the process of meeting with Aboriginal groups interested in buying the project. It is open to the sale of all of its participation to First Nations, Métis and Inuit investors. Ottawa stated that he did not want to own the project for the long term.
Work could begin this year
A senior government official, speaking to reporters before the official announcement, said the controversial project remains subject to numerous regulatory permits and obstacles, but construction is expected to begin this year.
"There are six months left in 2019 and I think it's fair to say that the shovels will be in place in 2019," said the manager. "Plans are being developed, regulators are ready to move forward."
Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney said on Tuesday that he welcomed the second approval of the project by the firm and called for an ambitious construction schedule.
"We need to get a fair price for our country's energy in order to create good jobs and pay for utilities." Approval is not a construction. So let's build it now! " Kenney tweeted.
Referring to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's research, the Canadian Pipeline Association said that each year of construction delay reduced the value of the project by some $ 693 million.
"This decision has been long in coming," said Chris Bloomer, President and CEO of the Pipeline Defense Group. "Further delays will only add to the opportunities Canada is losing every day because of lack of market access for responsibly-sourced Canadian products."
This decision comes more than two years after the last approval of the project by the Cabinet. This decision was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal last summer, with judges citing inadequate Aboriginal consultations and an incomplete environmental review process.
The court's decision put the federal government in the awkward position of being both the owner of the project – he bought it for $ 4.5 billion while investors were unsure – and l & rsquo; Entity responsible for approving building permits.
This shock decision forced the government and Crown consultation teams to return to the table with Aboriginal communities along the way. While the vast majority of First Nations communities have accepted the project and signed benefit and consequence agreements with the proponent – which is now a Crown-owned entity – some have reported the potentially devastating effects of a spill on their traditional lands or in their waters as a risk factor requiring more housing.
Other First Nations, including those in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, have called for the project to be completely killed.
The government commissioned retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci to lead the team of 60 consultants in Alberta and British Columbia. meet with First Nations and Métis communities to document concerns and make recommendations – beyond the 156 conditions already proposed by the NEB – that could mitigate the effects of this project.
Although the end result was essentially run in advance, the conditions to be fulfilled by the firm for its conditional approval of the project were unknown.
The cabinet accepted the 156 conditions and took, according to officials, the "unprecedented step" to change six of these conditions to "make them stronger and better", including strengthened plans for maritime and maritime interventions. urgency with a much greater participation of aboriginals.
The firm also offers eight new ones "adaptation measures" to address specific concerns of indigenous peoples, including the Salish Sea Initiative to limit the impact of increased oil tanker traffic on the population of killer whales residing in the south and the Initiative of the quiet boats to reduce noise pollution.
The positive decision taken by the firm is far from being the last hurdle to overcome for the project. It was presented for the first time by its former promoter, Kinder Morgan, in 2014. At present, the Crown corporation, accountable to Parliament through the Canada Development and Economic Corporation, will have to work together with the Office the project route through a series of regulatory hearings. Environmentalists and First Nations are still at risk of litigation.
Environmental groups have attacked the decision to go ahead with the project. Patrick McCully, director of the Rainforest Action Network's energy program, said it was "incredibly hypocritical" for the government to introduce a motion in the House of Commons stating Monday that climate change was a national emergency to approve a project major like Trans Mountain. Tuesday.
"It's like declaring the war on cancer and then announcing a campaign to promote smoking," McCully said. "But it is far from being acquired. First Nations and Canadian environmentalists will continue to fight this project and their international allies will support them in every way possible.
"The federal government has approved up to an additional 15 million tonnes of carbon, which is irresponsible at a time when Canada is moving further and further away from our climate commitment in Paris, and inconsistent with our commitment to climate change. the climate emergency announced yesterday, "added Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defense.
The pipeline company has already obtained approximately 30% of the pipeline materials needed to begin work on certain segments of the pipeline.
There are also competing Aboriginal-owned entities that wish to purchase the project in Ottawa, some of which offer a higher purchase price than the federal Liberal government paid to the Texas energy infrastructure giant.
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