Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government is willing to put up taxpayer dollars to help build a proposed cross-country oil pipeline spanning 3,300km, but it won’t be the full cost. “We’ll be an investor, and we’ll determine that. But I believe in getting outside investment,” said Ford. “I’m just going to reinforce that we are not paying for this. We’re putting in a small investment.” What that small investment will be is unclear. Ford believes there should be help from the private sector. The proposed pipeline would span four provinces and run from Hardisty, Alta., to a refinery in Sarnia, Ont., transporting an initial 500,000 barrels of oil per day, with the capacity to expand to 800,000. Ford says it will be done in less than four and a half years. “John A. Macdonald built a railroad in 1860—we can build a pipeline,” said Ford. “The risks of building in Canada often outweigh the reward; that needs to change.” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who joined Ford at the Calgary event, believes there is enough backing from the private sector to get the pipeline built. “I don’t think that the government needs to step in if the private sector will,” she said. “My conversation with Premier Ford suggested that there would be a lot of interest on the part of private sector proponents.” Jeff Lawson with Cenovus Energy said regulatory stability and government incentives could help investment capital flow back into the sector. “I believe that if Alberta does similar things and continues to push us to grow and implement an incentive to invest, the world will know our province is open for business,” said Lawson. Smith also told energy leaders she expects a federal decision shortly on a separate proposed West Coast pipeline currently under review by the federal Major Projects Office. There is no estimated cost for or construction timeline for the Northern Shield project. However, for comparison, the Trans Mountain Expansion project cost $34 billion for a route a little more than a quarter of the length, while the proposed new West Coast pipeline carries an estimated cost of up to $45 billion. No private sector proponents have come forward to fund the Northern Shield Energy Corridor.
