The Ford government says it is pushing ahead with a multi-province feasibility study into a new east-west pipeline, an idea initially floated through the summer as a way to insulate the Canadian economy.
At a meeting of the country’s premiers in Huntsville, Ont., this summer, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan signed an agreement to plan pipelines and new rail infrastructure.
On Thursday, Ontario announced it was officially moving ahead with a feasibility study looking at an east-west energy corridor to take oil and gas from Alberta and Saskatchewan to an as-yet unbuilt port in James Bay.
“This nation-building pipeline and energy corridor will unite our country and help unlock new markets for Canada’s energy resources that will reduce our dependence on the United States, all while creating new jobs and opportunities for Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement.
His Alberta counterpart, Danielle Smith, said the provinces were “proving what’s possible” when jurisdictions work together. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said new pipelines would “strengthen Canada’s energy security.”
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The Ford government said the feasibility study, which does not yet have a price tag, would conclude next year.
The plan has faced criticism from opposition critics in Ontario, both for how much it could cost taxpayers and for potentially increasing oil exports and harming global emissions targets.
“If the private corporations want to foot the bill for a feasibility study and then the government can come in and say, ‘OK, let’s look at this, let’s make sure the right checks and balances are in place,’ fine,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles said.
“But I want to understand why it is that Ontarians have to foot the bill for this project when, again, we aren’t clear that it will ever go ahead or that it’s going to have any benefit for Ontario workers.”
Environmental Defence said the pipeline was a “ridiculous” idea that it believes won’t happen and will hurt the climate if it does.
“These pipeline fantasies ignore economic and climate realities while threatening to derail Canada’s path towards a clean, climate-competitive future,” the group said in a statement.
“There just isn’t any demand for more Canadian oil, regardless of how it reaches tidewater.”
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