The future of pipeline projects was named as Canada’s top business story in 2016 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told CTV in a year-end interview that they will be a big issue next year too.
The pipeline issue was sure to be a newsmaker in 2016, especially with how the economy has affected Albertans.
There was some positive news in the latter part of the year, when Trudeau green-lit two projects that would see more Alberta crude sent to export markets.
The projects will cost billions and create tens of thousands of jobs in the province.
2016 also saw a fair amount of pipeline controversy too, especially regarding the Energy East project.
The discussion over that pipeline was suspended when members of the National Energy Board panel had to step down.
Another major project, the Keystone XL pipeline, also made headlines through the year, going from being cancelled entirely by the Obama administration to showing a new spark of life under comments from President-elect Donald Trump.
In a year-end interview with CTV’s Lisa Laflamme, Trudeau said that his government will be looking to balance pipeline improvements with the environment.
“We have an absolute cap because of Alberta’s leadership, an absolute cap on emissions from the oil sands. The issue we have is if we’re not building pipelines, we’re running oil by rail and we know that rail cars carrying oil are not only more emitting than a pipeline would be, but they’re also significantly more dangerous for communities.”
Pipelines narrowly beat real estate in a vote among newsrooms across the country, coming down to just one vote.
Housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto skyrocketed over 2016 while they sank in Alberta.
