Reference News Network, November 30 - According to Associated Press, Toronto, Canada, November 28 - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premier of Alberta, a province rich in oil resources, signed a memorandum of understanding on the 27th, aiming to build an oil pipeline to the Pacific coast, so that the country's oil export destinations are not limited to the United States, achieving diversification. This move caused turmoil within Trudeau's core circle.
The memorandum of understanding includes adjusting the ban on oil tankers in certain coastal areas of British Columbia if the pipeline is built.
Trudeau's support for this memorandum of understanding led to the resignation of one of his cabinet ministers, the Minister of Culture, Steven Guilbeault, on the 27th. A former environment minister and professional environmentalist
Guilbeault released a statement saying he strongly opposed the agreement with Alberta, pointing out that the pipeline could pass through the Great Bear Rainforest, increasing the risk of oil spills in the coastal areas.
Trudeau has set a goal for Canada to double its exports to regions outside the United States within the next 10 years. He said that American tariffs are causing investment to cool down.
Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith said the memorandum of understanding would lead to more than 1 million barrels of oil being exported daily, mainly to the Asian market, so that "our province and our country will no longer depend on a single customer to buy our most valuable resource."
Trudeau reiterated that as the United States changes its trade relationships, many advantages that Canada had based on its close relationship with the US have become weaknesses. Trudeau said, "In the past, over 95% of our energy exports went to the US. This close interdependence was once an advantage, but now it is a weakness."
Trudeau said that the oil pipeline could reduce the current price discount for oil sold to the US market. He called the memorandum of understanding the beginning of a process.
He said, "We have created some necessary conditions for this, but there is still a lot of work to be done."
Trudeau said that without the support of the private sector, there would be no pipeline.
The memorandum of understanding calls on the Ottawa government to engage with Alberta and British Columbia to advance the province's economic interests. In British Columbia, there is strong opposition to the presence of oil tankers along the coast.
Before Trudeau announced the news, the Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, said that lifting the oil tanker ban would threaten projects already under development in the region and the consensus among the coastal First Nations.
Marilyn Slett, chairperson of the Coastal First Nations Alliance, said, "We have no interest in common ownership or economic benefits from this project, as it could destroy our way of life and everything we have built on the coast." (Translated by Qiu Fang)
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