Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The Alberta government has considered three different pipeline routes through northern British Columbia for a new major oil export pipeline, according to documents obtained by CBC News which provide a first glimpse into where the project could be located. Several ports on the northern coast are highlighted as options, according to the documents, which were shown to local community leaders during private consultations on the proposed project this spring. The provincial government is also exploring the idea of a fourth route through southern BC and a port in the Vancouver area ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has pushed a pipeline idea that the BC government dismisses as a figment of her ­imagination to a fast-tracked national ­priority that could break ground just 15 months from now. That has left Premier David Eby sputtering in indignation. The awkward, tangled history of pipelines in BC shows that is not the best stance. He’s been reciting a litany of reasons why another oil ­pipeline through BC is a bad idea — no proponent, no ­financing, no firm customers, no route, etc. And yet, here we are: A concept the B.C. NDP has been fighting in various forms for at least 15 years has moved from a memorandum of ­understanding between Ottawa and Alberta to an ­“implementation agreement.” And that agreement has a shockingly fast timeline ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

IMAGE CREDIT :  CBC News   Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a landmark agreement today committing Ottawa to designate a new pipeline to BC's west coast as a project of national interest by October 1, 2026, with construction approval targeted for September 1, 2027. The deal pairs the pipeline with a new industrial carbon pricing framework and a fall 2027 construction start. British Columbia, the province where the pipeline ends, where the jobs would land, and where the export terminal would be built, was nowhere at the table. "This is a nation-building deal, and the BC NDP have been locked out of the room," said Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition.  "While the Prime Minister and the Premier of Alberta were doing the hard work of growing the Canadian economy, the NDP is on the sidelines calling this pipeline a 'fiction' and an 'energy vampire.'  He chose petulance over partnership, and now BC ...

With public attention focused on a proposed bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith let drop that Premier David Eby had told her he agreed to a different proposal to expand oil shipments through BC. That proposal would see a 40 per cent increase in the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline to BC’s Lower Mainland and an increase in tanker traffic in the Salish Sea. “I will acknowledge through gritted teeth this is not something we’re keen about, but we understand the role that we play and we have access to ports that we need to partner to Alberta”  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There's a maximum of five sitting days left before the House of Commons rises for the holiday break — but there's a lot left in store before parliamentarians head home to their ridings. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre intends to use a motion on Tuesday to press the Liberals on whether they support a new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast, which includes overriding the existing oil tanker ban off BC's north coast. The same day, Justice Minister Sean Fraser will hold a news conference about a new bill updating the Criminal Code to "protect victims and keep kids safe from predators," according to his office. And just before Christmas, the federal government must submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal. CBC senior reporter Olivia Stefanovich has more on that looming deadline — and what First Nations leaders are planning to do next ... CLICK HERE for ...

Lo and behold, Prime Minister Mark Carney, a global banker, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a petro-populist à la Donald Trump, have big energy plans for Canadians. The two now support an undefined bitumen pipeline project from Alberta to British Columbia’s northwest coast, claiming it will bring economic glory and growth for a troubled nation. In response to the news, Robbie Picard, an oilsands booster, has proposed that the resurrected project be called the Spirit Bear Pipeline. According to Picard, who is not Indigenous, the Spirit Bear symbolizes “resilience, harmony, and the sacred balance of nature and industry”   ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia Premier David Eby and First Nations have thrown up a wall of opposition to a proposed northern oil pipeline, after Alberta and the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding to work toward making it a reality. Eby said that the pipeline proposal was a distraction that had already cost BC another investment opportunity, dubbing it a potential “energy vampire” draining federal, Indigenous and provincial resources. He spoke in Victoria with most of his NDP caucus cheering him on from the steps of the B.C. legislature on Thursday ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Rory Johnston, oil markets analyst, and Grant Sprague, former Alberta deputy energy minister, examine the federal-provincial memorandum of understanding on a pathway toward a West Coast bitumen pipeline.  They analyze whether the agreement removes or adds barriers to construction, debate the viability of private sector financing versus public funding, and explore critical sequencing challenges between the pipeline and the Pathways carbon capture project ... CLICK HERE to access the audio interview (approx 30 minutes) 

Premier David Eby, one-time loyal cheerleader for “Team Canada,” will find out Thursday if he’s been benched. The wraps will come off that day on whatever Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have cooked up in the way of a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the north coast. But Eby’s frustration about being left out of talks on a memorandum of understanding that only came to light last week is so acute by this point that he couldn’t wait. So he jumped the gun this week and launched an extended denunciation of whatever they are announcing well ahead of it actually being announced. He talked directly to Carney on Monday, following news that Alberta and Ottawa have reportedly reached an agreement about the contentious pipeline idea. Carney played him along, saying that an agreement “is not finalized yet.” The prime minister tried to lower the temperature Tuesday, saying B.C. and First Nations support is essential. Just the idea that Carney and Smith have been talkin...

Pierre Poilievre was ready. The Conservative leader was ready to rumble ... Carney and Premier Danielle Smith have come to an agreement, a deal, a memorandum of understanding of great importance to Alberta. ... will whatever (pipeline) agreement rolls out Thursday be enough? On Tuesday, Poilievre takes aim at Carney, saying the prime minister will make “one of those grand announcements” where he will wave around “a meaningless so-called memorandum of understanding.” Meaningless? That must sting Smith ... CLICK HERE for the full story

For weeks, political watchers have been bracing for the long-rumoured energy accord between Alberta and Ottawa—a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would align the two levels of government on a conditional pathway for a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast. The fact that it didn’t come in the budget, during the second tranche of major projects announcement, and blew past Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s half-promised, self-imposed Grey Cup deadline, frustrated a lot of people. But that delay may have been more necessary than meets the eye. It all starts to make sense when folding in a third character in this drama of national importance: David Eby ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

As the federal government and Alberta work towards an agreement that could include support for a new pipeline, B.C. Premier David Eby is calling out a pair of Western premiers who he says should “know better.” Multiple provincial and federal government sources tell CTV News that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the federal government could be days away from an announcement of a memorandum of understanding(MOU). It could include changes to the industrial carbon price and support for a new pipeline to the west coast that would require an exemption under the federal tanker ban. The Globe and Mail was first to report on the terms being discussed for the MOU. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, meanwhile, told reporters on Wednesday that he is also involved in ongoing negotiations about a deal for a potential pipeline. Speaking to CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Thursday, Eby said he was “caught off guard” by the reported terms of the forthcoming deal ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s accusation Tuesday that Premier David Eby is being “un-Canadian” in dismissing her oil pipeline idea is dead wrong. It’s as Canadian as all get out to have provinces fighting each other over resource issues while appealing for a prime minister to sort things out. This latest classic example of Confederation in action could come to a head by Grey Cup day, Nov. 16, the date Smith arbitrarily set for Prime Minister Mark Carney to make the next move. It could make for quite a half-time show ...  CLICK HERE for the full story 

The Alberta government is planning to lead a new application for a pipeline to the BC coast. According to the Globe and Mail, three sources have stated the Smith government will be leveraging the expertise of Enbridge Inc., South Bow Corp., and Trans Mountain Corp to consult on the project. The three companies will be working with the government and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to develop the backbone of the models of a potential route, but the sources say that no final route has been decided upon yet ... CLICK HERE for the full story