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Alberta poised to go ‘ballistic’ over sands
Feds promise decision by end of February on Teck’s oil sands mine; Kenney says delays, denial will prove there is ‘no way forward’ Gary Park for Petroleum News
The years of snarling and feuding over building new crude bitumen pipelines out of Alberta could seem like just the preliminary rounds when the Canadian government casts a decision on Teck Corp’s plans for the largest oil sands mine in Alberta history.
Whatever the verdict of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet on Teck’s C$20.6 billion Frontier project targeting output of 260,000 barrels per day, there is bound to be a heavyweight showdown.
The buildup is already taking shape as proponents and opponents of Frontier engaged in clashes in December in Edmonton and Calgary, amid a forest of placards and verbal threats, ending any hopes for a reasoned debate and consensus deals.
A Financial Post columnist Diane Francis described Frontier as a “litmus test” of whether Trudeau will govern on behalf of Canadians, or wants to “continue government-by-Greta” - a reference to the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg who has become the “poster girl for the global environmental movement.”
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said that if Frontier does not proceed “it would be a clear indication that there is no way forward for (Canada’s) largest natural resource.”
He carefully avoided painting a picture of the likely outcome or getting drawn into discussing whether defeat for Frontier would fuel the separatist mood in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Less hesitant is Jack Mintz, a fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, who warned that a Trudeau administration move to delay or cancel Frontier would be a “real stab in (Alberta’s) heart” which would see the province “going ballistic.”
He said the project is an “interesting test” of whether the federal government believes in its oft-proclaimed policy of encouraging responsible resource development.
Issue for cabinet ministers There are signs that the looming decision is driving some of Trudeau’s senior cabinet ministers - notably Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland - underground.
A frequent visitor to Alberta, where she was born and raised, Freeland was back in early January to visit with relatives and talk with the mayors of Edmonton and Calgary and Kenney.
She then scurried back to Ottawa after avoiding reporters’ questions - a rare display of camera-shyness for her.
There was no sign that Freeland was ready to answer a plea from Alberta Senator Doug Black to Trudeau to bring his entire cabinet to Alberta for a meeting and to visit Grande Prairie, the major oil industry service city of 70,000 in northwestern Alberta.
Black said ministers would benefit from meeting with “real people and to see first-hand the devastation their policies have caused. I’ve recently visited Grande Prairie and the hardship there is just unbelievable.”
There seems little point in Teck or Alberta trying to defend their estimates that carbon dioxide output from Frontier of 4.1 million metric tons a year is well within the province’s limit of emissions from major resource projects of 100 million metric tons a year, or that the project will create 7,000 construction jobs and full-time employment for 2,500.
Indigenous communities Also ignored is the fact that 14 Indigenous communities have used their own democratic process to sign benefits and access agreements with Teck.
Ron Quintal, president of the Fort McKay Metis Nation, finds it “frustrating” that other aboriginal groups outside the Frontier region want the project rejected.
He said the pro-Frontier communities have hired independent researchers and have gone over all resource projects with a fine tooth comb.
“If we’re looking for true reconciliation and protection of our rights and asking the government to honor that, then we need to also honor each other from that perspective,” Quintal said.
Bill Loutitt, chief executive officer of McMurray Metis, said his community believes it is better off trying to make changes and improve the environmental conditions for the project “on the inside to mitigate any factors that are going to really be damaging.”
A spokeswoman for federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the government’s deadline for making a final decision on Frontier is the end of February.
“The government will consider a range of factors when they make a decision, including our commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, to advancing reconciliation, to creating good-paying middle-class jobs and to growing the economy,” she said.
-GARY PARK
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