Increasing regional tensions and economic uncertainty over the future of the already-approved Trans Mountain pipeline project should be addressed and defused as quickly as possible, Premier Brian Pallister announced.
“I have promoted open trade and the importance of interprovincial trading partnerships throughout my career,” said Pallister. “I am particularly concerned by this developing controversy within the energy sector, which has resulted in provocation and threats at the provincial level. This uncertainty is decidedly unhelpful to economic development in Western Canada and for the general well-being of the Canadian federation.”
Both the National Energy Board and the federal cabinet approved the Trans Mountain pipeline project in 2016 after balancing all relevant considerations and ultimately determining that it was in Canada’s national interest.
“I applaud the prime minister’s early signals, but his leadership and ongoing stewardship over this situation must be maintained,” said Pallister. “There is a clear need to de-escalate the situation by recognizing that Canada is truly an economic union and that free trade will always be critical to our collective prosperity. We need to embrace this principle internally, just as we seek to project it abroad.”
The premier also welcomed the federal government’s pending legislative proposals to streamline and consolidate environmental assessment processes on energy projects.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the specifics, but whether it’s a pipeline or a transmission line, markets and investors need certainty,” said Pallister. “They don’t react well to either overlapping processes or backward steps.”
