Skip to main content

Pathways Alliance watching Trans Mountain's latest hurdles with dismay

Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
CALGARY -

The group behind a proposed carbon capture and storage network for Alberta's oilsands is watching the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion's latest regulatory hurdles with dismay.

The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada's biggest oilsands companies, wants to get its proposed $16.5-billion carbon pipeline and underground storage hub up and running in northern Alberta by 2030.

The project is key to the oilsands industry's commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from production by 2050.

But Pathways president Kendall Dilling says the latest challenges affecting the Trans Mountain pipeline project show how hard it is to get major infrastructure projects across the finish line in this country.

The Crown corporation that owns Trans Mountain has run into fresh construction issues in British Columbia, and a B.C. First Nation is opposing the company's efforts to modify the pipeline's route as a result.

The Trans Mountain project, which is owned by the federal government, was expected to be in-service early next year but now may not be ready until December 2024.

The Pathways Alliance has just started formal consultations with Indigenous groups for its own project, which Dilling says is at a “critical juncture” if it has to have a shot at being done by 2030.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2023.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Ontario doctors disciplined over Israel-Gaza protests

A number of doctors are facing scrutiny for publicizing their opinions on the Israel-Hamas war. Critics say expressing their political views could impact patient care, while others say that it is being used as an excuse for censorship.

'No concessions' St-Onge says in $100M a year news deal with Google

The Canadian government has reached a deal with Google over the Online News Act that will see the tech giant pay $100 million annually to publishers, and continue to allow access to Canadian news content on its platform. This comes after Google had threatened to block news on its platform when the contentious new rules come into effect next month.

Live updates

Live updates Hamas frees 10 Israeli women and children, 4 Thai nationals

Ten Israeli women and children and four Thai nationals held captive in Gaza were freed by Hamas, and Israel followed with the release of a group of Palestinian prisoners Thursday. It was the latest exchange of hostages for prisoners under a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war. Two Russian-Israeli women were also freed by Hamas in a separate release.

opinion

opinion Don Martin: With Trudeau resignation fever rising, a Conservative nightmare appears

With speculation rising that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will follow his father's footsteps in the snow to a pre-election resignation, political columnist Don Martin focuses on one Liberal cabinet minister who's emerging as leadership material -- and who stands out as a fresh-faced contrast to the often 'angry and abrasive' leader of the Conservatives.

Stay Connected