Premier Kenney and Energy Minister Savage respond to federal government's decision to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion

By David Opinko

Alberta Government fully supports immediate construction of Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

Jun 18, 2019 | 5:44 PM

EDMONTON, AB — Premier Jason Kenny took the podium Tuesday following the announcement from the federal government that they have approved expanding the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Although he is excited to see the project get approval from the Trudeau administration, he says there is still a lot of work left to do before shovels hit the ground.

“We’ll measure success, not by today’s decision, but by the beginning of actual construction, and more importantly, by the completion of the pipeline.”

Senior government officials with Ottawa told media earlier the day that there are still a few hurdles the pipeline expansion would need to clear before it is ready to go and offered no timelines on when that might actually be.

At the same time, the premier says he and the Government of Alberta will do everything they can to get construction started immediately and work towards “real progress.”

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“This is a critical project for Canada’s economic future for good jobs, to be able to pay for critical social programs like healthcare and education. It’s also a project supported by the vast majority of Canadians, including the vast majority of British Columbians.”

Kenny says Canada is now faced with the test of proving to the world that this country is safe to invest, to create jobs, and that Canada is “an economic union where we can dream big and still do big things.”

He also said at Tuesday’s press conference that the approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion will allow the world to purcahse more Canadian oil and rely less on “some of the world’s worst regimes.”

The federal government estimates that the expanded pipeline would generate as much as $500-million per year in annual revenues, all of which would go towards green energy projects in the future.

Kenny says he and the United Conservative Party support this because the jobs Trans Mountain would create and support would be worth it.