The federal and provincial governments were on hand to announce plans for a staging area on the Enoch Cree Nation for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Premier Rachel Notley and Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi joined Enoch Cree Nation Chief Bill Morin for the blessing and groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning.
“There are many First Nations out there who can raise the capital and who have done so on similar oil and gas projects to be an equitable partner in this project,” Chief Morin said.
The province said the site will be one of four staging areas to receive and store materials required to build the 980 kilometres of new pipeline needed for the pipeline expansion project.
“With this blessing, construction for the Enoch Cree Stockpile Site can begin and we move that much closer to getting this pipeline built,” Notley said.
Expansion project could face hurdles
The federal government is set to become the official owner of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion after failling to find another private-sector purchaser.
The deadline to find a new buyer for the expansion project passed on July 22.
Without a deal, it is expected Kinder Morgan will now take Ottawa’s $4.5-billion offer to purchase the project from its shareholders.
The sale also includes the Puget Sound pipeline, a 111-kilometre line that diverts from the existing Trans Mountain pipeline in B.C. and carries oil to four Washington state refineries.
Pending the approval of the sale, the deal now hinges on a U.S. security review, which could be passed on to President Donald Trump.
The White House would have 15 days to potentially veto the project.
“There’s no need to speculate whatsoever. These are just normal processes that we go through and we will get through it,” Sohi said.
“Canada is not a security threat to the United States. Even to think that Canada can be is just inconceivable.”
Construction for the expansion project is expected to start in Alberta in August and B.C.’s North Thompson region in late September.
To see the construction schedule, click here.
With files from Jonathan Glasgow and The Canadian Press
