(AB) NDP energy minister wants to help Energy East pipeline

[Oscar]

NDP energy minister wants to help get Energy East pipeline built

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JAMES WOOD, CALGARY HERALD More from James Wood, Calgary Herald
Published on: June 24, 2015 | Last Updated: June 24, 2015 6:39 PM MDT

Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd says Alberta’s NDP government will work with other provinces to overcome obstacles to the Energy East pipeline, adding she’s not daunted by Quebec Premier Phillipe Couillard’s concerns about the project.

Premier Rachel Notley’s party, elected last month, has taken a much more skeptical stance toward pipelines than the previous Tory government, dropping the province’s lobbying efforts for the controversial Keystone XL and Northern Gateway lines.

However, the rookie government has given its seal of approval to TransCanada Corp.’s $12-billion Energy East project, which is intended to pump Alberta’s oilsands crude to refineries in New Brunswick.

However, Energy East has run into opposition from environmental groups, First Nations groups and some residents along the proposed route, as well as lukewarm provincial governments.

Earlier this week, Couillard expressed doubt about the benefit to Quebec from the project after a marine terminal proposed for the province was scrapped earlier this year.

In an interview Tuesday, McCuaig-Boyd downplayed the impact of Couillard’s remarks.

“He’s just trying to make sure the project is right for his province and I think any premier would want that,” she said. “There’s a shared priority certainly among all the provinces to move our resources, so I don’t think talks are dead by any means.”

McCuaig-Boyd noted that Notley will get together with her fellow premiers at a Council of the Federation meeting in Newfoundland and Labrador next month, while she will meet with her fellow energy ministers in Halifax.

Energy East is expected to be a topic of discussion at both meetings, and Alberta wants to hear the concerns of other jurisdictions, she said.

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