The federal government is advancing the process to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as a “national interest” project.
Designating a project as being in national interest under the Building Canada Act allows the government to fast-track approvals and skirt some environmental laws.
A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 1 sets a Sept. 18 deadline to submit comments on the national interest designation.
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The government’s notice says Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc will work with the Alberta and B.C. governments while consultations with Indigenous communities are underway.
The proposed pipeline is a central component of an energy agreement between the federal and Alberta governments.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre pipeline would carry upwards of one million barrels of crude oil from Bruderheim, Alta. to a port near Delta, B.C. for shipment to international markets.