What changes will the new Liberal government make to the National Energy Board, and how will they impact the Kinder Morgan pipeline?
The public will have to wait for answers on this and other pipeline questions, as the Liberal government isn’t revealing any details yet.
Jim Carr, the new Natural Resources Minister, held his first conference call with media Wednesday morning. Several reporters asked about plans to change the environmental and National Energy Board processes and how this would impact pipeline projects, like Northern Gateway, Energy East and Kinder Morgan, but the minister could offer very little new information.
When asked if TransCanada would have to reapply for an assessment for the Energy East pipeline, the minister reverted to talking points used in the election.
“The first thing I wanted to say is we understand the importance of moving our resources to market, all part of developing our energy resources in a sustainable way,” he said. “We’re committed to a process that has the confidence of Canadians and we’re fully engaged in this issue with the government. I understand that any changes that we make to the process will have an effect on projects, I know that it’s important, and we will be reviewing the situation and we will be giving you the results as soon as we can.”
The NOW had similar questions about for the Kinder Morgan pipeline application, as the NEB’s deadline for a recommendation is just six months away. When asked if there would be any changes to the NEB or the Kinder Morgan file before the deadline, Carr replied, “We’re working on it, and we’ll be in a position to share the results as soon as we can.”
When one reporter asked point blank if the Kinder Morgan file would go forward and what changes, exactly, were going to happen with the NEB, the minister said, “Yes, it is going ahead, and we will make changes to the National Energy Board that are consistent with our platform commitments, mainly that it be more reflective of the diversity of the nation, that it incorporate into its thinking indigenous culture, which is very important, given the fact that partnerships with indigenous communities will be a welcome part, from my point of view, of the new way in which we go about developing new projects in Canada. I’m looking forward to that engagement, and we will begin to review the particular changes to the National Energy Board.”
Carr conducted the conference call from Paris, France, while attending the International Energy Agency’s ministerial meeting, where representatives from 40 countries gather to discuss energy issues.
