Ottawa announces $3 billion for Massey Tunnel replacement, while North Coast tanker ban remains in place
The agreement also includes a commitment that the two governments will negotiate an economic and revenue framework for any new pipeline
By Alec Lazenby
Last updated 11 hours ago
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Ottawa’s investment of billions of dollars in B.C. infrastructure is being welcomed by the business community, but concerns persist about the soaring budget of projects such as the Massey Tunnel replacement.
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An agreement announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby in Vancouver Thursday also potentially stymies Alberta’s hopes for a northern pipeline because it includes a federal commitment to not remove the North Coast tanker ban.
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Laura Jones, president of the B.C. Business Council, said the $10 billion for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project and $3 billion investment in the Massey Tunnel replacement will help shift the economy away from the U.S., but warned of the difficulties.
“We need to continue to focus on this, and to make sure that the execution matches. The fun part is standing up and making announcements. The not so fun part is making sure that this translates into really, really good, solid execution, and that’s what we need from both levels of government,” said Jones.
Jones said the business environment won’t improve over the short-term given the high marginal tax rates in B.C., and the provincial sales tax applied to machine, equipment and business services.
Ottawa is also providing $3.5 billion for the North Coast transmission line to power LNG plants and critical mineral projects, and $500 million for the expansion of the Red Chris Mine.
Carney said the money is meant to catalyze investment of over $200 billion in the country.
“We need to move faster, we need to build bigger, and we need to work together. We have to be ambitious and build sustainably and inclusively. British Columbia is Canada’s gateway to the world’s fastest growing markets,” said Carney.
There are concerns that Ottawa’s funding for the Massey Tunnel replacement project comes two weeks after the province terminated its agreement with the Cross Fraser Partnership to design and build the new eight-lane tunnel.
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Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth acknowledged the tunnel would cost more than the $4.1 billion originally budgeted, although he didn’t provide a new figure.
Delta Councillor Dylan Kruger, said he’s heard from a federal source that the cost could be as much as $11 billion and he’s frustrated he’s hearing more about the Massey Tunnel from Ottawa than he is from the province.
“The feds don’t provide funding for major capital projects without detailed cost estimates. So we know that this information is available. We know that the federal government has it, and yet we still cannot get a real answer from the provincial government as to the true cost of the project,” said Kruger.
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade CEO Bridgitte Anderson said: “While this is a significant agreement for British Columbia, it is an agreement, and it’s not necessarily the execution of an agreement.
“I think accelerating permitting and having these timelines is really important, but what’s going to matter most is that we sit back in 12 months from now, or two years, or three years from now, and say, yeah, we got these projects built.”
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Another contention is that Eby and Carney announced the agreement on the same day that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith planned to provide an update on her preferred route for a new pipeline to the West Coast, and the agreement included a commitment to keep the North Coast tanker ban in place.
Eby admitted that he has no levers to stop the construction of a new pipeline from Alberta, which he opposes, but the agreement does not require the provincial government’s support.
“We will not be going to court to fight a pipeline project. Instead, we will ensure we fulfill our constitutional obligations in good faith. Pipelines are federal jurisdiction,” said Eby.
“That’s why this agreement matters. It ensures that the North Coast tanker ban stays in place, and it ensures that if a pipeline goes ahead, that British Columbians are fairly compensated for the environmental risks we would take on with any new pipeline project.”
The agreement also includes that the two governments will negotiate an economic and revenue framework for any new pipeline, the establishment of an environmental liability and emergency response fund for the province and First Nations, and require the operator to provide an annual royalty payment to B.C.
