The mayor of Sarnia has sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, urging the federal government to classify the proposed Northern Shield Pipeline as a “project of national interest.”
The 3,300 kilometre pipeline route being evaluated stretches from Hardisty, Alberta to Sarnia.
This east-west energy corridor aims to transport around 500,000 barrels of oil daily for local use and export markets, with the capacity to increase to 800,000 barrels per day.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously expressed support for the project and indicated that the province is willing to help fund it.
Mayor Mike Bradley mentioned that as the Northern Shield proposal progresses through reviews and consultations, including discussions with First Nations, this is a chance for the federal government to acknowledge its national importance.
“I think it’s time that this project moves up to be on that nation building list for the good of the country,” said Bradley. “This will unite the country just like rail united the country back in 1867. It’s got all the ingredients to bring about Canadian sovereignty as it relates to oil and shipping it and doing it in a safe manner. So to me, the timing is excellent and it’s time to move forward while the government’s still fresh moving forward on these nation building projects.”
Bradley emphasized that getting this designation would significantly speed up progress on the pipeline.
“It would bring into play their legislation that compacts the timelines for consultation and all the other things that have to happen,” he said. “It’s ridiculous that could take up to 10 years. If you do all the right regulatory things, do all the consultation necessary, it can be done in three to five years, which would bring an incredible amount of jobs into Sarnia-Lambton.”
Bradley pointed out that having more pipelines fully within Canada would greatly benefit us, especially considering our current strained relations with the United States.
“There’s no question that if the pipeline is completed there will be a huge impact here and it could lead to an upgrade here in Sarnia-Lambton,” said Bradley. “It could lead to other projects, but it also gives us, for the next generation and generations after that, sovereignty over our own resources. We do not have that with Line 5 due to all that’s happened in recent years with opposition in U. S. and particularly Michigan. So this would give us Canadians a pipeline that protects us in future and secures our energy needs.”
Bradley described this moment as “excellent” given today’s national mood and noted how eager the federal government seems about taking charge and creating jobs across Canada.
Local politicians like Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey and St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar welcomed this idea when it was first brought up.
A feasibility study is currently underway and should be finished by year’s end.
A similar designation was recently awarded for another proposed project-the West Coast Oil Pipeline-which plans to connect Bruderheim, Alberta with an offshore marine loading facility near Delta, British Columbia.
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