TransMountain Pipeline Expansion
CBJ — It appears as if the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is set to move forward after years of legal hassles and court delays.
Trans Mountain president and CEO Ian Anderson, federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, provincial Energy Minister Sonya Savage and representatives from local governments and the Enoch Cree Nation jointly announced the start of construction just west of Edmonton.
The federal government approved the $7.4-billion expansion for the second time earlier this year. The Federal Court of Appeal is currently reviewing an appeal by Indigenous groups of that second approval.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney — and former Premier Rachel Notley prior to that — have relentlessly called upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to forge ahead with construction on the project.
Trans Mountain expects 4,200 workers to be employed by the end of the year.
The pipeline expansion will carry nearly 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day, tripling its capacity, from Alberta to the B.C. coast near Vancouver once completed in 2022.
