Northern Gateway decision to be delayed?

The Canadian government could technically delay an imminent decision on whether to approve the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta's oilsands to the Pacific coast, according to Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford.

Rickford's office stressed he was not signalling that a delay was necessarily the direction the government would take.

Instead, Rickford said the Conservative government was considering an extensive report by the country's energy regulator, the National Energy Board, for the proposed pipeline, which is opposed by many environmentalists and aboriginal groups.

"Obviously this is an extensive report with 209 conditions, and the government obviously has the clear option of taking that on its face, or other options that would or could include delays," Rickford said.

The government is "having those discussions and making careful considerations, and we'll be responding to the report in the not-to-distant future," he said.

Rickford spokesman Chris McCluskey later said: "The minister was asked about the various options cabinet has to consider. We reject any suggestion there was emphasis on any particular option."

The timeline for the decision

The Conservatives have until 17th June to make their decision on Enbridge Inc's proposal to build the 525 000 bpd pipeline at a cost of Cdn$ 7.9 billion (US$ 7.3 billion). One of three major domestic projects currently on the books, it would carry crude from Edmonton, Canada's oilsands hub, to a deepwater port in British Columbia.

The government has pushed hard to reassure Canadians of its policies to regulate those projects, which would allow Canadian producers, now dependent on US markets, to tap directly into lucrative foreign markets.

"The government's responsibility in this obviously is squarely as a regulator and an enforcer of those regulations," Rickford said.

"So we're taking a look at that report and its conditions."

Fierce opposition to the pipeline project

Northern Gateway and other pending projects are fiercely opposed by environmentalists and aboriginal groups who fear spills and the possibility that pipelines will hasten development of the Alberta oil sands and exacerbate climate change. In an effort to address some of those concerns, the government pledged to involve aboriginal communities in pipeline safety plans, and encourage more collaboration with industry.

Asked whether such talks have shifted the government's thinking on approving the projects, Rickford said: "There is an exercise in ... resetting the relationship, if you will, and creating a framework where the issues related to a project and cumulative effects, safety of energy transportation or extraction activity, can occur."

Liberal party opposition

Opposition Liberal leader Justin Trudeau needled Prime Minister Stephen Harper over Northern Gateway on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

"The Northern Gateway pipeline project has failed in its duty to consult with First Nations (aboriginals). It has failed to reassure Canadians that the Great Bear Rainforest will be protected. It has failed to show those whose jobs and livelihood depend on the Pacific Ocean that a catastrophic spill can be prevented," he said.

"Therefore, will the Government of Canada do the right thing and say 'no' to the Northern Gateway pipeline?"

How the decision will come about; and the next steps if it is approved

The Conservative cabinet may be under heavy pressure over its pending decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline but Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford also said that the process isn’t complicated.

“It’s actually a pretty straightforward process. It’s about reviewing the panel’s submission,” Rickford said.

“The National Energy Board, the joint review panel are in place to make independent, fact-based, science-based decisions that guide any government’s, or in this case our government’s, response.”

Rickford said the cabinet response would come in the “not too distant future” but he would not tip the government’s hand.

He said projects such as Gateway, which would allow for the shipment of Canadian crude to Asia, represent “tremendous economic opportunity” but “we’re not afraid to obviously make tough decisions and put the health and safety of communities and environmental protection at the forefront.”

Rickford acknowledged that complications for the project lay ahead no matter what the federal decision is but suggested Enbridge, as the proponent would have the primary responsibility in dealing with those issues.

“The federal government’s role in all of this is regulatory and the enforcement of those regulations,” he said.

Ivan Giesbrecht, spokesman for the Northern Gateway project, said Enbridge is optimistic the cabinet will give the go-ahead to the pipeline and said it was feasible with the conditions laid out by the joint review panel.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/12062014/northern_gateway_decision_to_be_delayed/