Political Infighting to Continue After Ottawa Rules on Northern Gateway

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Harper government is anticipated to soon make a key decision on Enbridge Inc.’s politically-charged Northern Gateway project, since it has already spent the past 18 months to convince the public that building an oil sands pipeline through British Columbia is in the national interest. According to a legislation passed earlier in 2012, Ottawa set itself a Tuesday deadline for responding to a joint review panel report issued last December that recommended cabinet approve the $7.9-billion project, but with 209 conditions.

According to the proposed plan, the pipeline would be equipped to shift 525,000 barrels per day of diluted bitumen to Kitimat, B.C., for export by supertanker to Asia-pacific markets. In addition to that, another parallel line is planned to carry light hydrocarbons used to dilute the gooey crude from the coast to Alberta. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week, he said that the government will act on the advice of experts, signaling that it intends to adopt the recommendations of the joint National Energy Board-Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel.

However, the government will have to face a massive political battle if it expects to qualify any approval with an admonition to Enbridge that it must win greater support in B.C. before it begins construction. The company is bound not to start building the project until it satisfies the panel by addressing at least 111 of the 209 conditions. Enbridge executives claim that the construction would not begin for at least 18 months after the decision is made.