TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that a proposed pipeline to carry Alberta oil to the Pacific Coast would preserve a longstanding ban on oil tankers off northern British Columbia, as his government addresses environmental concerns and seeks to ease separatist tensions in oil-rich Alberta.
Carney said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will announce details on a possible route at a joint news conference in Calgary later Thursday.
His government has made expanding pipeline capacity to the Pacific a priority as it seeks to diversify Canada’s oil exports beyond the U.S. market while responding to long-standing complaints in Alberta that his predecessor hindered the province’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment.
Alberta is holding a public vote in the fall on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada. Getting a pipeline built would alleviate some separatist sentiment.
British Columbia and some First Nations are against a pipeline through northern British Columbia.
“The tanker ban will remain in place. We will be protecting the northern coast of British Columbia,” Carney said.
Carney also said Thursday he will compensate British Columbia for environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of the province.
A previous memorandum of understanding Ottawa and Alberta included an adjustment of an oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast, but British Columbia Premier David Eby also said Thursday he secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place, protecting the province’s pristine northern coast.
“It ensures that the northern tanker ban remains in place, and it ensure that if a pipeline goes ahead, British Columbians are fairly compensated in the environmental risks,” Eby said.
Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade and has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to U.S. markets.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government also opposed a pipeline that could cross the northern British Columbia and the Great Bear Rainforest.
Trudeau approved one pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia southern coast but rejected the Northern Gateway project amid opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous communities.
Alberta holds one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and Canada is seeking greater access to Asian markets.
