Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi was back in Alberta Wednesday, the day after the federal cabinet approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion for a second time.

Sohi visited the Trans Mountain Corporation’s Edmonton terminal, and said he is confident that construction on the project will begin this year.

“The approval of this project and moving forward on this project is a demonstration of confidence by our federal government in our energy sector,” Sohi said.

The construction will proceed this construction season.  But as you can appreciate, before you put shovels in the ground, there’s a lot of work that is necessary, that needs to be done.”

Trans Mountain Corporation is now lining up contractors, working towards having the pipeline twinned by mid-2022.

“If things go according to plan, I could see shovels in the ground as early as September,” said President and CEO Ian Anderson.

Work stopped in 2018 when a federal court overturned the previous approval from Ottawa, ruling environmental assessments and Indigenous consultations didn’t go far enough.

While some Indigenous groups want to invest in the pipeline, other First Nations along the route are already discussing legal challenges against the project. 

 “I think we have done a deep and significant assessment of all risks related to the project, and I'm confident we can execute against them,” Anderson said.

Province waiting for construction to begin

After the decision was announced on Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney said he isn’t celebrating the announcement.

“It’s another step in a process that’s frankly taken too long,” Kenney said Tuesday. “We’ll measure success not by [this] decision but by the beginning of actual construction and more importantly by completion of the pipeline.”

Finance Minister Bill Morneau was also in the province Wednesday, speaking at an Economic Club of Canada event in Calgary.