Alberta’s climate plan part of cabinet decision on new oilsands mine: Wilkinson

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says cabinet’s decision on a massive new oilsands mine in Alberta will take into consideration what the province is doing to help Canada meet its climate goals.

Wilkinson stressed that cabinet has not yet decided whether to green light the proposed $20 billion Teck Frontier mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

But he says any decision on new projects considers how they fit with Canada’s goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and provincial efforts to help.

Wilkinson notes Alberta is still fighting Ottawa’s federal carbon price in court.

The federal government was clear in 2016 that when it approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, it did so knowing Alberta was imposing a cap on total oilsands emissions and was about to launch a province-wide carbon tax.

When Jason Kenney became Alberta premier last year, he kept the emissions cap but immediately scrapped the carbon tax and sued the federal government when it stepped in to impose the federal version in its place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2020.

The Canadian Press

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