Office of the Premier
Premier Christy Clark issued the following statement on the federal government’s pipeline decisions:
“Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his decision to reject Northern Gateway and approve the Kinder Morgan Expansion project.
“For four and a half years, British Columbia's position has been principled, clear, and consistent. Any heavy oil project must meet our five conditions:
1. Receive regulatory approvals
2. World-leading marine-spill response
3. World-leading land-spill response
4. Indigenous participation
5. A fair share of benefits for British Columbia
“For the past four and a half years, we have said we would measure the project against these five clear principles, and that for the expansion of any heavy oil movement through British Columbia, these conditions are the path to get to yes.
“We set these conditions to ensure the interests of British Columbians would come first, and be protected.
“We are pleased with the progress we have made. Recently, in response to our work and our consistent position, the federal government announced a new Ocean Protection Plan to protect our coast. They are very close to meeting our five conditions, but we still need some details on the plan to be certain our coast is protected, and there is still some work to do to ensure that British Columbians get a fair share of the jobs and benefits from this project.
“I told Prime Minister Trudeau I look forward to him coming to British Columbia to share his thinking behind his decision, to tell British Columbians directly about the values and principles that guided him in coming to this decision. I stressed the importance of him coming to our province to talk about why this is in the national interest.
“I look forward to welcoming him to British Columbia very soon.”
