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Roughneck · 01-24-2021, 11:23 AM

Northern Gateway was a project planned for $100+ oil and by the time approval, looked to be something Enbridge was shelving anyway.

The conditions that were put on approval actually were binding unlike other projects the NEB overlooked. Cost was increasing. First Nations groups along the route weren't all on board. When compared to TMX, it was going cost more, move less, and didn't have the same shipping contracts after China backed away. Add all that on top of oil prices collapsing in 2014 and Northern Gateway doesn't become a big priority it seems. The drop in prices coming with giving up ownership stakes seems like it would be particularly tough on the project given it rising to almost $8B to build (and would have undoubtedly gone up) https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/is-...lved-1.2965355

This was all during a CPC government as well. The change in tone and support was noted at the time https://globalnews.ca/news/1409132/g...ortant-kenney/
Still supporting getting energy to market, but noticeably standoffish about NG in particular. We went from:

“We think it’s obviously in the vital interests of Canada, and in the vital interests of British Columbia,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Northern Gateway in August 2012."

to

“No particular project is a national priority,” said Kenney in 2014. After they passed off everything to the NEB, who really didn't have anything to do but wait for Enbridge to fulfill the conditions.

But the Conservatives have put nobody forward to defend their position on Northern Gateway since the government announced its conditions for approval of the pipeline on June 17.

Kenney said the Conservative party didn’t want to put a representative forward since licensing the pipeline project is a regulatory matter overseen by the National Energy Board, not the federal government.

So even before the Liberals were elected, and long before C-48, nothing was actually going ahead with Northern Gateway, it was already paralyzed it and put it on life support with restrictive conditions and active lawsuits. The Conservatives had already chosen to not use up any of their political capital in BC to fight for the project, the courts sent the approval back to the (now Liberal) cabinet due to lack of proper consultation (one of the conditions that was part of the approval) and now the Liberals could gain political capital by officially pulling the plug. C-48 may have been the symbolic end to the project, but it was flat-lined before that ever happened.

Then when it came down to it, Trudeau and the Liberals backed TMX, which had the better economics, already had the route secured, and had better shipping contracts in place. In doing so, they gave up whatever political capital they built up in BC and then some, and they just get #### on in Alberta anyways. The Liberals had more to gain politically by stopping both Northern Gateway and TMX. But they killed the project that was pretty much dead (even before they got to power and even before the court case sent it back), and supported the one that was most likely to succeed.

There definitely seems to be a myth around Northern Gateway, and particularly the Liberals role in it not getting built. C-48 is treated like the pipeline was shovel ready and tankers were just waiting offshore ready to be filled. The pro-pipeline federal government washed their hands of the project back in 2014, and it's fate was pretty much sealed after that when the party that campaigned against it came into the fold.

01-24-2021, 11:23 AM	#5944
Roughneck #1 Goaltender Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: the middle Exp:	Northern Gateway was a project planned for $100+ oil and by the time approval, looked to be something Enbridge was shelving anyway. The conditions that were put on approval actually were binding unlike other projects the NEB overlooked. Cost was increasing. First Nations groups along the route weren't all on board. When compared to TMX, it was going cost more, move less, and didn't have the same shipping contracts after China backed away. Add all that on top of oil prices collapsing in 2014 and Northern Gateway doesn't become a big priority it seems. The drop in prices coming with giving up ownership stakes seems like it would be particularly tough on the project given it rising to almost $8B to build (and would have undoubtedly gone up) https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/is-...lved-1.2965355 This was all during a CPC government as well. The change in tone and support was noted at the time https://globalnews.ca/news/1409132/g...ortant-kenney/ Still supporting getting energy to market, but noticeably standoffish about NG in particular. We went from: “We think it’s obviously in the vital interests of Canada, and in the vital interests of British Columbia,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Northern Gateway in August 2012." to “No particular project is a national priority,” said Kenney in 2014. After they passed off everything to the NEB, who really didn't have anything to do but wait for Enbridge to fulfill the conditions. But the Conservatives have put nobody forward to defend their position on Northern Gateway since the government announced its conditions for approval of the pipeline on June 17. Kenney said the Conservative party didn’t want to put a representative forward since licensing the pipeline project is a regulatory matter overseen by the National Energy Board, not the federal government. So even before the Liberals were elected, and long before C-48, nothing was actually going ahead with Northern Gateway, it was already paralyzed it and put it on life support with restrictive conditions and active lawsuits. The Conservatives had already chosen to not use up any of their political capital in BC to fight for the project, the courts sent the approval back to the (now Liberal) cabinet due to lack of proper consultation (one of the conditions that was part of the approval) and now the Liberals could gain political capital by officially pulling the plug. C-48 may have been the symbolic end to the project, but it was flat-lined before that ever happened. Then when it came down to it, Trudeau and the Liberals backed TMX, which had the better economics, already had the route secured, and had better shipping contracts in place. In doing so, they gave up whatever political capital they built up in BC and then some, and they just get #### on in Alberta anyways. The Liberals had more to gain politically by stopping both Northern Gateway and TMX. But they killed the project that was pretty much dead (even before they got to power and even before the court case sent it back), and supported the one that was most likely to succeed. There definitely seems to be a myth around Northern Gateway, and particularly the Liberals role in it not getting built. C-48 is treated like the pipeline was shovel ready and tankers were just waiting offshore ready to be filled. The pro-pipeline federal government washed their hands of the project back in 2014, and it's fate was pretty much sealed after that when the party that campaigned against it came into the fold.