Edmonton (June 21, 2019) – Two bills passed by the Senate today will enshrine into law the Liberal government’s anti-resource development stand on future oil and gas development, according to the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA) whose member companies build major infrastructure projects, including pipelines.
“There’s only one word for it, and that’s hypocritical,” said Paul de Jong, President of the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA). One day the government re-approves the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project, and the next it passes legislation making future resource development more difficult and complex. These mixed signals seem to be an unfortunate sign of the times.”
Bill C-69 adds another lay of politicking and uncertainty to the approval process by allowing a minister to extend or suspend project timelines. Bill C-48 limits Canada’s export capacity by banning oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of crude oil from stopping at ports along B.C.’s north coast.
“If the goal is to drive away jobs and investment and bog down the approval process, these two pieces of legislation will succeed big time,” added de Jong. “It’s not that hard to connect the dots and conclude that the federal government lacks the political gumption and backbone to get key resource projects built.”
About the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA)
With offices in BC, Alberta and Ontario, PCA is the voice of progressive unionized employers in Canada’s construction industry. Our member companies are responsible for 40 percent of energy and natural resource construction projects in British Columbia and Alberta and are leaders in infrastructure construction across Canada. PCA member companies employ more than 25,000 skilled construction workers in Canada, represented primarily by CLAC.
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