Canada PM Seeks Major Project Status for Alberta West Coast Pipeline Project

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has referred a proposal for a one million barrel-per-day west coast pipeline to the Major Projects Office to seek a national interest designation, to streamline its permitting, his office said on Thursday. Canada sees an opportunity to become "a leading supplier of clean and conventional energy" at a time when widespread energy insecurity drives up living costs and threatens the climate and national sovereignty, the prime minister's office said. Without referencing exactly what the sum covered, Carney was quoted in the statement noting that the project's referral was "unlocking" $200 billion in new investment across the country. The project would follow an existing Trans Mountain corridor has been proposed by the Government of Alberta province. The province and central government would be equal partners in the project with a stake reserved for Indigenous Peoples. There would be private investment and expertise from Pembina Pipeline Corporation in a private sector investor capacity, led by Trans Mountain Corporation. "This moment is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - and Canada is moving quickly to seize it," the statement said, adding.