Teck Resources Ltd. isn’t following through with its application to build an oilsands project in northern Alberta.
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns feels as though the economics of the project really didn’t make sense in the first place.
“The business case relied on extremely high oil prices for decades to come,” Johns says. “Basically the company seems to have come to the same conclusion that we did, the project had a bad business case and an ever worse environmental one. It made no sense for the Liberals to approve this project and the Democrats stood against it.”
The federal government was slated to make a decision this week on whether to approve the massive $20.6-billion Frontier.
It would have produced around 260,000 barrels per day, with 2,500 workers needed to operate it all.
Johns says the Trudeau Liberals were “ready to put us even more backwards in our fight against the climate crisis.”
“We didn’t support this project. There was no good economic or environmental case for it. We’re committed to working with Albertans to develop sustainable, 21st-century industries and jobs.”
He adds that now is the time for a federal government that has a long-term plan that revolves around good-paying jobs not only in Alberta, but across Canada.
“It’s time right now to invest in a real plan for workers and communities affected by the on-going global economic transition.”
Investments in green infrastructure projects, renewable energy, public transit and retrofitting homes and businesses are important areas that Johns feels will help the country move forward.
