Olds & District Chamber of Commerce vice-president Ben Stone says it's too early to say if the federal Liberal government's approval of two pipelines will help the local economy.
But he's cautiously optimistic that long term, it will help.
On Nov. 29, Prime Minister Trudeau announced his government has approved Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, which would carry crude oil to the West Coast from Edmonton, tripling that pipeline's current capacity.
An Enbridge Inc. project, known as Line 3, which would carry oil from a terminal near Hardisty, Alta., through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wis. was also given the green light.
However, the Liberal government vetoed Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have carried oil from Bruderheim, Alta., to an export terminal in Kitimat on the northern B.C. coast.
As of last week, it was unclear what will happen to yet another proposed pipeline: TransCanada's Energy East project, which would pump oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to the refineries of Eastern Canada and a marine terminal in New Brunswick.
“In terms of the immediate impact, I don't think we're going to see any substantial change right off the bat,” Stone says.
He anticipates the projects will still be hotly opposed by aboriginal people and environmentalists. Some municipal leaders have also opposed the projects.
“A good example is the Dakota Access pipeline – the amount of trouble they're having right now with protestors and having that pipeline built,” Stone says. “But I do think it is a step in the right direction.”
After the federal government made its announcement, B.C. Premier Christy Clark said the Trans Mountain project is close to meeting five conditions that province imposed for its support of the project.
Those conditions include world-leading capacity to clean up any possible oil spills and to protect the environment in general, plus ensuring B.C. receives “a fair share” of jobs and other benefits from the project.
“I think the more people who are on board, it's definitely to our advantage,” Stone says.
He says in any case, “it's nice to see the Canadian government step up for Alberta.”
"A good example is the Dakota Access pipeline – the amount of trouble they're having right now with protestors and having that pipeline built. But I do think it is a step in the right direction."BEN STONE VICE-PRESIDENT OLDS & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
