Environment Minister calls it a “good day for Albertans” with approval of pipelines

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips was all smiles as she continued to meet with investors and stakeholders Wednesday, after hearing two major pipeline projects had been approved.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that his government would be giving Enbridge Line 3 Expansion and Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline projects the green light.

In between meetings in Calgary she spoke with 660 NEWS about her thoughts on what the news will mean for Alberta.

“It’s a really good day for Albertans and these announcements mean that Albertans can begin to get back to work, we can assure that our energy industry is moving along and it also shows, as the Prime Minister said, that the environment and the economy go together. These pipeline approvals came as a result of Alberta’s climate leadership plan and the initiatives that we have taken to be more environmentally responsible.”

“Court challenges happened in the Northern Gateway case because the previous Conservative government, the Harper government, tried to take short cuts. Tried to take short cuts with consultation, with their engagement with First Nations and so on, this process has been different. The new government undertook a new process and as a result we have a decision that is much more likely to move forward.”

Phillips says court challenges are still a possibility but this process has included one of the most robust consultation processes in Canadian history.

She says Albertans will see an immediate certainty for investors and they expect construction will begin in 2017 with a completion for 2019.

“The certainty this provides to Alberta’s oilsands sector really means good things for Albertans, it means we can put people back to work right away.”

The Minister says it’s also about being able to get a higher price for our product by diversifying the customer base.

“We’ve had a very productive relationship with the federal government because we believe in engaging respectively with our partners at any level and we believe that kind of collaborative approach is the way to get things done. The previous governments and certainly the opposition here in Alberta believe in a different approach, that we should shout people out of the room or be disrespectful to either the federal government or to our critics. We don’t believe that’s how you get things done and that really showed yesterday, the proof is in the pipeline.”

“There is a possibility of ensuring upgraded product flows down that pipeline and there is a refinery at Burnaby which could result in even more economic benefits for the people of British Columbia so that’s certainly a possibility going forward and that will come as a result of business decisions made by the companies in question. For our part, in terms of diversification and adding value to our energy products, Alberta has moved forward with Petro Chemical Diversification Program so we can make sure that we’re building those facilities that add value to our oil and gas resources right here at home, keeping those good jobs right here.”

As Ottawa continues to move forward on clean fuel standards, it’s promised to work with the province to come together on a solution.

“We’ll see what the federal government brings to use on the matter of the low carbon fuel standard, they’ve indicated they want to consult so we welcome those conversations with them. What this may mean though is a bit of a boost for Alberta’s bio-fuel industry, we have a tremendous amount of strength, of course agriculture is our second largest industry and there are a number of interesting proposals out there, there have been a number of companies that have been working on this in Alberta for some time and so we’ll see how we can make sure Alberta’s interests are represented in those conversations.”

Phillips says they’ll be looking for a level playing field and ways they can diversify the economy and ways to add value to agricultural and forestry products at home.

“The government of Alberta has taken the matter of climate change seriously so now when we talk about energy infrastructure, pipelines in either direction, we have answered many of the legitimate questions that Canadians and Albertans have had about our environmental performance. We are now at the forefront of climate leadership among Canadian provinces on the continent and certainly among energy producing jurisdictions. And we know that we are able to grow our economy in partnership with the energy industry, in partnership with renewables and other new industries in a way that we can have both and we are doing both.”