Canada Government Considers Fast-Tracking Controversial West Coast Pipeline Project

A proposed West Coast pipeline project in Canada has received a notice from the government that it may be fast-tracked. The notice was published in a supplement to the Canada Gazette and states that Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet may add the project to a list of projects considered to be in the national interest.

The pipeline, which would run 1,250 kilometres from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, to a marine terminal in southern British Columbia, has been proposed by Premier Danielle Smith's government. The cost of building the pipeline is estimated to be between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion.

The project would allow for the transportation of one million barrels of oil per day to tankers destined for Asia. Trans Mountain Corp, a government-owned company, and the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, owned by the province, are split co-owners of the pipeline. Pembina Pipeline Corp has agreed to take 10% through construction with room to go higher once oil is flowing.

Ottawa will give notice by October 1 if it intends to list the project for fast-tracking, which would streamline federal approvals and hand the Major Projects Office the power to set conditions. Consultation with Indigenous communities is already underway.