Premier Scott Moe says all pipelines through Sask. are now pre-approved. Experts say that doesn't mean much
Provinces have a limited role in approving big infrastructure projects
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says any pipeline projects that cross the province will now be considered "pre-approved."
While the proclamation is provocative, experts say it changes very little about the reality of building a pipeline in Canada.
"Materially this doesn't mean anything, right? This is essentially nonsense. So this is political discourse," said Amy Janzwood, an associate professor of politics at McGill University.
Professor Andrew Leach, an economist at the University of Alberta, agreed that Moe's comments are political theatre.
Any pipelines that cross provincial boundaries — or the Canada-U.S. border — have to be reviewed by the Canada Energy Regulator.
Ottawa would then have a duty to consult Indigenous communities along the pipeline's path before ultimately deciding whether to approve the project.
Leach said Moe's comments mean very little, because provinces have no real capacity to withhold permits. Janzwood agreed.
"It doesn't mean anything in the sense of the regulatory process, which is, as I mentioned, something that is done at the federal level. There's a role for provincial governments if they're interested, but there's no such thing as a pre-approval federally or provincially," Janzwood said.
Moe's post on social media announcing the policy tagged the accounts of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and came while Moe visited Washington, D.C., this week.
It also followed Trump's announcement that he wants the Keystone XL built "NOW."
With eyes now focused on domestic energy concerns, Premier Moe said he's issuing a call for other provincial governments and Ottawa to embrace a similar policy.
CBC News attempted to ask for more clarification on Moe's comments. He was not made available for an interview.
The Government of Saskatchewan provided a statement saying the province has "always been supportive of the construction of critical infrastructure."
It said it wants certainty for the oil industry and that development has been "hindered by the introduction of regulatory policies and federal politics."
Janzwood said times have changed and the economic reality of the global oil market does not support the large, expensive and time consuming process necessary to get a pipeline up and running.
"There's lots of evidence to suggest that pipeline companies have turned their interests elsewhere in terms of still getting their products to market, but by other means using their already existing networks of infrastructure," Janzwood said.
She said that's why no new major oil pipeline projects have been proposed since the Energy East pipeline in 2014.
With Energy East having been cancelled in 2017, Janzwood said it's confusing to hear politicians lead the push for pipelines when oil companies are not interested.
"We have heard from very prominent former and current pipeline executives and pipeline proponents saying that governments should not be the ones that are using taxpayer dollars to build these massive new infrastructure projects."
Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP said it agrees there is a need to build an east-west pipeline, but that Moe's comment on "pre-approval" are not helpful.
Instead, the NDP pointed to a call for a "Team Saskatchewan Taskforce" it made earlier this month.
"We're very conscious to ensure that all voices were included in that: industry voices, public sector voices, Indigenous voices and, whether Premier Moe likes it or not, those are all voices that need to be at the table," NDP jobs and economy critic Aleana Young said.
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