Statement by Aly Hyder Ali, Program Manager, Oil and Gas, in response to Premier Smith’s pipeline announcement.
Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Today’s announcement by Premier Danielle Smith that Alberta will file an application for a new oil sands pipeline to the West Coast is nothing but a farce. There is no private company behind the project, no committed investors, and no clear plan – just a province stepping into a paperwork process, desperate to keep the idea of a new oil pipeline alive.
Estimates suggest that a new oil pipeline could cost up to $50 billion and could take 10 years to complete. By then, global oil demand is projected to have peaked and begun a slow, steady decline, resulting in another stranded asset. According to recent analysis, 66 per cent of new capital investments in oil and gas infrastructure would fail to deliver returns and become stranded assets as the world continues to accelerate towards a global energy transition.
Through today’s announcement, Premier Smith is making it clear that she is willing to gamble with Alberta’s future. She is betting Alberta’s economic destiny on the world failing to shift to renewable energy. But that is not the reality: governments and markets worldwide are moving quickly towards electrification, efficiency and clean power. By clinging to pipelines, Alberta – and by extension Canada – risks being left behind while the rest of the world builds the industries and jobs of the future.
After all, if a new pipeline made economic sense, why aren’t companies lining up to invest in it? The most recently constructed pipeline in Canada, the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX), was the costliest infrastructure project in Canadian history. It exceeded every budget estimate and has cost Canadians over $34 billion. Meanwhile, it is still not operating at full capacity.
Beyond the economics, a northern pipeline would cut through some of Canada’s most sensitive ecosystems and Indigenous territories, threatening key species, forests and waterways that are already under stress from climate change. Many First Nations in B.C. have already publicly stated that they would not support a new pipeline going through their territory. On top of that, B.C. Premier David Eby is opposed to a pipeline going through northern B.C.
Premier Smith’s proposed pipeline will increase oil tanker traffic along B.C.’s northern coast – a region where oil tankers are currently banned under federal law because of catastrophic risk to fisheries, salmon runs and fragile marine ecosystems.
Furthermore, the idea of building a new pipeline in the midst of a climate crisis relies heavily on the myth of “decarbonized oil” through carbon capture and storage. There is no such thing as a decarbonized hydro-carbon. Carbon capture only captures a minuscule fraction of emissions from oil production and does nothing to stop the vast quantities of climate pollution when oil and gas are burned. Calling this “decarbonized oil” is like calling filtered cigarettes healthy.
Today’s announcement has been more smoke and mirrors from the Government of Alberta. It is a politically motivated move that ignores economic reality, climate science and environmental protections. Despite her claims, Premier Smith’s proposed pipeline doesn’t meet the criteria to be considered a nation-building project under Bill C-5, not only around climate change and clean growth but also because it doesn’t have a high likelihood of completion.
Environmental Defence strongly urges the federal government to stand by Canada’s environmental laws and treat this proposal for what it truly is – an empty gesture with no future. Canada should stop entertaining pipeline fantasies and focus instead on real nation-building projects.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
