VANCOUVER -- British Columbia and the federal government have unveiled a multibillion-dollar agreement that will maintain the northern oil tanker ban, eliminating the possibility of an oil pipeline from Alberta to B.C.’s northern coast.
But the memorandum of understanding unveiled by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby in Vancouver on Thursday also acknowledges Canada’s agreement with Alberta on a trans-provincial oil pipeline, saying B.C. will be compensated for environmental risks if Ottawa imposes an oil pipeline on B.C.
Carney said the memorandum of understanding would help unlock more than $150 billion in new investment, with British Columbia as the “linchpin.”
“This agreement is comprehensive. It is ambitious. And it will help transform the entire Canadian economy and fund the public services on which all Canadians rely,” Carney said in a speech released ahead of the announcement.
The prime minister was scheduled to head to Alberta later Thursday for a news conference with Premier Danielle Smith, where they are expected to make an announcement about plans for the pipeline to B.C.’s coast that Eby has long criticized.
Eby said during the news conference with Carney that there was “no way” under the deal that a northern bitumen pipeline would be built.
He said the MOU doesn’t require B.C. to support any pipeline proposal from Alberta.
“However, as I said before, we recognize our constitutional position and we do not have the authority to stop a new pipeline. We will not be going to court to fight a pipeline project,” he said.
“Pipelines are federal jurisdiction, that’s why this agreement matters, it ensures that the northern tanker ban stays in place, and it ensures that if the pipeline goes ahead, British Columbians are fairly compensated for the environmental risks we would take.”
Carney said questions about alternative routes would be answered later in Alberta. “You can draw your own conclusions,” he added.
The MOU says B.C. “must share meaningfully” in the economic benefits of a new pipeline, with mechanisms to be discussed, including an annual royalty payment and an environmental response fund.
The MOU also says B.C. recognizes Canada’s interests in “optimizing” the existing southern Trans Mountain Pipeline, increasing throughput to 1.2 million barrels a day, up from 890,000.
Eby said the multibillion-dollar Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement puts the province on a “generational path to prosperity,” while Carney said it would include $3.5 billion in federal funds for the North Coast Transmission Line to deliver electricity to communities and projects in the region.
Carney said the government would also invest $500 million to expand the Red Chris Mine that would boost national copper production by more than 15 per cent.
Included in the massive investment described by Carney is $100 billion in new trade capacity thanks to a $10 billion upgrade of the Roberts Bank container export terminal, which he said the federal government would help support.
With files by David Baxter in Ottawa
