D’oh!
That’s the word from former Alberta cabinet minister and federal opposition leader Stockwell Day in regards to a proposed heavy oil refinery near Kitimat that had its environmental assessment pulled by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault this week.
In a text to The Western Standard, Day said the $11-billion Pacific Future Energy project was “years ahead of its time” when it was first proposed in 2016.
Day was a director of the Vancouver-based company that was proposing to refine 150,000 barrels per day of Alberta heavy crude that was to come off the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and send another 200,000 bpd of natural gas thinning agents back to Edmonton.
Products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel would have then been exported to markets in Asia.
But Guilbeault on Tuesday quietly terminated the environmental assessment for the project — arguably one of the most difficult steps — that was grandfathered under old environmental rules.
If it were to move ahead, the company would have to reapply under the newer Impact Assessment Act (IAA), that replaced the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in 2019 with a more stringent regulatory framework that places greater emphasis on climate considerations.
Because Pacific Future Energy initially submitted its project description in 2016, it fell under the previous rules. However, Guilbeault made it clear that any attempt to revive the project would require a new application under the updated environmental regulations.
“In your response on December 3, 2024, you confirmed that Pacific Future Energy Corporation does not intend to carry out the project,” Guilbeault wrote to the company. “This letter provides you with notification that I have terminated the environmental assessment for the project.”
It comes as various politicos and even indigenous leaders have mused about the possibility of reviving the Northern Gateway pipeline, which was cancelled outright by the Trudeau government in 2016, in order to bypass potentially crippling US tariffs on Canadian energy.
Opinion polls have consistently shown that Canadians favour increasing energy independence and self-sufficiency in light of threats from US President Donald Trump to annex Canada as the 51st state.
But, according to Day, it’s a bit late for that. The original team has not been involved with it for a number of years, he said.
"(Pacific Future) was an exciting initiative with an innovative refinery proposal and a team of all-stars from various fields representing First Nations, labour unions, engineering, and manufacturing. Certainly, in today’s environment, it would be a no-brainer.“
