FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Calgary, Alberta – Prime Minister Mark Carney joined Alberta Premier Danielle Smith today to announce a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Province of Alberta and the federal government. The deal commits both sides to the construction of a new pipeline to carry Alberta oil to Canada’s West Coast through British Columbia.

Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy, responded to the news. “Make no mistake, this is a vindication for CAE. For years we’ve been saying that Canada needs to build more pipelines, and it is nice to see the Prime Minister and his Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, agreeing with us. A new pipeline would be good for Canadians and acknowledging that is an encouraging course correction from the government – a notable shift from the green ideologues Justin Trudeau, Jonathan Wilkinson and Stephen Guilbeault.”

But McTeague emphasized his continuing concern: “The fundamental Carney approach isn’t changing – this is still a top-down corporatist green agenda.” While the MOU includes the suspension of the “Clean Electricity Regulations” for Alberta, it mandates that the province increase its Industrial Carbon Tax from $95 to $130 per tonne. “This will stifle economic activity and mitigate any benefit this project produces,” McTeague added. “The Industrial Carbon Tax is hurting Canadians – raising the price of fuel, heating, and groceries – just like the Consumer Carbon Tax did. But the cost is hidden from Canadian consumers, which is why Mark Carney likes it.”

“This MOU further commits both sides to Net-Zero by 2050, an arbitrary and unachievable goal that even hardcore environmentalists like Bill Gates are beginning to back away from,” said McTeague. “It’s disappointing to see the prime minister doubling down on it.”

Part of the deal is to subsidize the world’s largest Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) network. “This will cost in the tens of billions in taxpayer dollars to no real benefit to the Canadian people,” according to McTeague.

Adding another layer of complexity, for the pipeline to move forward, the MOU pledges that Canada and Alberta will engage with British Columbia to hammer out the details on this project. This has been complicated by the fact that BC Premier David Eby has made it clear that he doesn’t want a new pipeline through his province, and he doesn’t support amending the federal oil tanker ban, a necessity for the feasibility of this project.

McTeague continued, “Moreover, we have real concerns about the process here. Projects like this shouldn’t move forward by Prime Ministerial fiat. What we need is a predictable, transparent process with a reasonable regulatory regime. The MOU fosters a real danger of boondoggles and corruption, while scaring away potential investors wary of expending resources on a pipeline that Carney or his successor could nix on a whim years down the road.

McTeague concluded: “Who benefits from this? Not regular Canadians.”

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