After months of discussions, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are set to announce a deal that would support a new oil pipeline to the BC coast.The Globe and Mail reports that sources have said Carney and Smith are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize the deal at an event hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.A source also confirmed the MOU largely came together over the Grey Cup weekend due to negotiations between Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia and Larry Kaumeyer, Alberta’s deputy minister of energy and minerals.The MOU is said to include changes to industrial carbon pricing in support of scaling up carbon capture technology, and to lower or remove the industrial emissions cap.This development comes after BC Premier David Eby has publicly objected to the idea of a new pipeline to his province’s northwest coast.Eby – who was recently caught off-guard by the announcement that Alberta and Ottawa were close to an energy accord — said he spoke with the prime minister on Monday and laid out three specific concerns about a heavy oil pipeline running from Alberta to his province, but received no word on whether the feds would note his concerns.“[Carney] has outlined to me that the agreement with Alberta is not finalized yet,” Eby told the press.“I took the opportunity in our conversation to outline British Columbia’s perspective.”.Smith, Carney close to striking energy accord, sources say.The deal has also sparked concerns in BC with regards to First Nations and the potential consequences for the environment if the pipeline project goes ahead.Eby also told Carney that indigenous groups must have a say in a pipeline that goes through their traditional territory and that the current tanker ban on BC’s northwest coast should not be lifted.With current estimates placing the cost of a pipeline at roughly $20-billion to $30-billion and the red tape around such an endeavour, BC’s premier feels there is also little likelihood of any significant investment from the private sector.“There is not a world in which with the current price of oil, a private company is going to step up and pay for this pipeline across the north,” he said.The partial lifting of the tanker ban on the west coast in particular has been a major point of contention in the ongoing debate, with proponents arguing it is due to the danger the area poses to shipping vessels.“It is an incredibly precarious shipping route. It is the reason why the ban on oil tankers has existed for generations across multiple governments of different political stripes,” Eby said.“A heavy oil spill would decimate a $1.7-billion industry of fisheries and tourism and the way of life in the northwest.”.Report says Smith, Carney reach pipeline deal.The tanker ban became law in 2019 when former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government passed the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which has since been among the most criticized laws by Smith’s government.However, on Monday, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said before a House of Commons committee that Ottawa was getting close to providing clarity on whether or not it would repeal the ban.“We have been talking with that potential proponent, the Government of Alberta. We have been working on, as has been widely reported, a memorandum of understanding. That is a work in progress right now,” Hodgson said.“I think we are getting close to a place, and when that gets done we’ll have some more clarity.”Hodgson did, however, reiterate that Ottawa is willing to work with any pipeline or critical minerals proponent if they have the support of provincial jurisdictions and the support of First Nations.“We will work with them to clear whatever barriers there are,” he said.When asked to respond to Eby’s concerns, Hodgson said that several BC projects have already been referred to the Major Projects Office and that the feds will be “talking with British Columbia in short order.”
