By Josh Wingrove
BLOOMBERG

Alberta’s incoming premier is already fighting pipeline law changes that are in the offing.

Jason Kenney’s conservative party swept to power Tuesday in Canada’s oil heartland after a campaign in which he regularly took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In his victory speech, Kenney also criticized Trudeau for “imposing new laws that will make it impossible to get pipelines approved in the future.”

A trio of proposed laws affecting pipeline, environmental and oil shipping laws are working their way through Canada’s Senate as Trudeau’s Liberals gear up for an October election, trailing in the polls. The most controversial is known as Bill C-69 -- Kenney’s predecessor in Alberta also opposed its current wording, but his election will add pressure to Trudeau to bow to concessions sought by the oil industry.

“I expect to see the federal government make substantial changes to that piece of legislation because they’re needed or the Canadian economy will suffer,” Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told reporters Wednesday.

Proposed Law
The sprawling Bill C-69 would create a new regime for approvals of things like crude oil pipelines and new mines. Trudeau’s government argues the law clarifies a currently opaque system that sees projects regularly struck down by courts, but the oil industry says it’s too complicated and would deter new pipelines.

The proposed law has become a lightning rod and is now under examination in Canada’s increasingly unpredictable Senate. Changes to the bill are almost certain, and this will trigger a standoff with Trudeau’s elected lawmakers in the House of Commons. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking: an election would kill any bills that haven’t yet made it into law.
“This will give certainty, it will build public trust and therefore it will result in projects being built,” Senator Grant Mitchell, the bill’s sponsor in the upper chamber, said in an interview. He expects an amended version to pass. “The risk is in not doing it, in my mind. That’s not to say it can’t be changed.”

Industry View
C-69 is so wide-ranging there’s no cohesive industry view -- the oil sector opposes its current form, but others aren’t as worried. Oil industry groups have suggested major changes that would make the bill palatable, but warn they need to be taken broadly together, and not cherry-picked.

“If this bill passes like it is, it’s going to be a jobs killer, and investment killer and you’re not going to get the major projects that we should get,” Chris Bloomer, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, said in an interview.

Christopher Carlsen, vice-president of engineering at Birchcliff Energy, said during a conference in Toronto this week there’s “significant nervousness and investor questions” about the bill.

One key uncertainty is that the government hasn’t released the “project list” to which the new rules will apply. A draft of that list is expected to be made public in the coming weeks, a Canadian government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The Senate has sparred over how quickly it will consider C-69, first proposed last year, and two other bills: C-68, which makes related reforms to fishery and environmental laws, and C-48, which bans crude oil tanker traffic on the northwestern coast of British Columbia. All the bills touch on energy development and environmental rules.

Canadian Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said the government is open to changes that would “strengthen” C-69, but signaled the government planned to push ahead with the bill despite the blow-back. “I respectfully disagree with the industry’s assessment of this legislation,” he said.

Timeline UnclearThe Trudeau government expects the bill to pass in some form and receive royal assent before the election, rather than stall and die, the Canadian official said. Trudeau has a majority in the House of Commons, and the Senate historically bows to the wishes of elected lawmakers.

If the law is passed, Trudeau’s government will also need to weigh how quickly it’ll take effect. The prime minister could face criticism from the industry if he pushes for a start date before the election.
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“The fear is that in the rush, the bill itself could be mangled,” said Justyna Laurie-Lean, vice-president of environment and regulatory affairs at the Mining Association of Canada, which is calling for a year-long implementation process.

READ MORE: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-18/kenney-win-puts-maligned-trudeau-pipeline-law-under-new-pressure

​SHANNON LOUGH
Coast Mountain News

As the federal government reviews the Fisheries Act, two North Coast B.C. residents flew to Ottawa to present how they think the act should be improved.

There are eight key areas to Bill C-68 and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is listed as number two.

John Helin, mayor of the Lax Kw’alaams Band near Prince Rupert, painted a grim picture of his Indigenous community as he spoke to the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans – how members are struggling to make a living, and his experience with fisheries enforcement officers “racially profiling” members.

“We have a fleet of 70-80 gillnetters that can’t make a living anymore fishing for salmon. We have a fish plant in my community that at its peak, employs up 100 members in the village and we’re having a lot of challenges keeping that operation going,” Helin said.

To keep the fish plant going, they’ve diversified by processing groundfish, but he said with all the other fisheries coming into the area, they’ve lost an opportunity.

“There was a herring fishery in our day in the 70s and 80s, a seine herring fishery, and it wiped out that fish. To this day, that stock doesn’t come back. So herring is a staple, not just for people, but for other fish in the sea that feed off herring. So it’s alarming to us when DFO allows one guy to go out fishing and everyone else agrees to tie up,” Helin said.

Helin said the band wants to sign a comprehensive fisheries agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but had never done so since losing a fisheries case. He said it’s resulted in members being targeted on the water.

“It got so bad where one of the fisheries enforcement guys boarded my son’s boat, he was fishing my boat, and he had his 10-year-old kid on the boat, and this guy pulls his gun on the deck of my son’s boat without provocation. That went to court and it was tossed out. That shows how we’re treated in our own traditionally territory,” he said.

“When you talk about reconciliation, consultation, they’re just empty words for us. So hopefully coming before committees like this, we can make the improvements that we want.”

Earlier in the day, third-generation fisherwoman, fisheries biologist and Prince Rupert resident Chelsey Ellis presented her suggested amendments to Bill C-68, saying more and more licenses and quota are being transferred from fishermen and away from coastal communities.

“For the few young fish harvesters trying to persevere, it’s getting harder to earn a living and find a safe, reliable and professional crew to work with,” Ellis said, adding young people are not joining the industry because they don’t see a future in it.
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She called for measures to prioritize and incentivize licenses and quota for “those taking the risks and working long hard hours” to harvest Canadian seafood, and the promotion of independence of owner-operator enterprises within all commercial fisheries.

Jesse Snyder
National Post

OTTAWA — Senators have agreed to discard a hard deadline on the passage of Bill C-69, according to a document obtained by the National Post, easing the pressure to complete the sweeping energy reforms before spring.

After a flurry of closed-door meetings Thursday, Conservative and Independent senators came to an agreement to reverse parts of a motion tabled one day earlier by Sen. Peter Harder, the Liberal government’s Senate representative, which would have fast-tracked 11 bills that are currently in the upper house. The deal between Conservative and Independent senators will eliminate proposed deadlines on three controversial pieces of legislation, including Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, the moratorium on oil tanker traffic in northern B.C. waters.

The agreement comes as the Senate energy committee prepares to tour the country to hear from witnesses on Bill C-69, which proposes to overhaul the review process for major energy projects like pipelines and hydro dams. The legislation has become a focal point for many in the Western provinces concerned it could deter future investment in the oil and gas sector.

Some senators have said they are open to amending the bill, which industry groups argue is lacking in detail and therefore leaves the project review process open to interpretation. Last August, Ottawa purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion as a way to ensure construction of the project, which had languished in part because of Canada’s complicated regulatory review process.

Harder tabled a motion Wednesday which would have imposed a tight deadline of May 30 for the Senate to pass Bill C-69, a full month before the upper house’s final scheduled sitting day before summer break, June 28. It also proposed a June 6 deadline for the oil tanker moratorium bill and a May 30 deadline for Bill C-68, the counterpart to Bill C-69 that focuses on ocean protections.

Conservative senators delayed a vote on the motion Wednesday, then in private meetings Thursday pushed for an agreement to remove some of the deadlines.

Still, the agreement maintains a firm timeline on when various committees need to report back to the Senate, imposing short timeframes in which senators can propose amendments.

The energy committee studying Bill C-69 will need to report back to the Senate by May 9, just weeks after senators complete their cross-Canada tour, according to the updated schedule seen by the Post. Senators on the transport committee, who are studying Bill C-48, will need to report back by May 16.

The tighter deadlines come as the end of the spring session nears, a fall election looms and a swath of legislation is lagging in the Senate. Thirteen bills are currently under review int he upper house, as well as roughly 10 more bills yet to be passed to the Senate from the House of Commons.

Some senators have accused the Conservatives of delaying bills for political purposes, causing some legislation to stall for as much as a year. Bill C-55, which updates various marine protections, has languished in the Senate since April 2018. The updated schedule now proposes to bass the bill by May 2.

Conservative senators, for their part, voiced loud objections to the motion on Wednesday, saying the government was looking to stifle debate on critical pieces of legislation.

“It’s not about the dates that are being proposed, it’s about the restriction,” Conservative Sen. Judith Seidman said Thursday morning, before the agreement was signed. “It’s constricting debate on the issues through this mass, widespread motion.”

In a statement Wednesday Conservative Sen. Larry Smith called Harder’s motion to assign deadlines to a bundle of 11 bills “unprecedented,” and said it “shuts down the abilities of senators to review and question government legislation.”

Independent Sen. Doug Black told the Post Wednesday that senators might have to work long hours in order to review and potentially amend the legislation before the May 9 deadline. Black, who represents Alberta, is not on the energy committee but has been an outspoken critic of the bill in its current form and plans to travel with other senators to hear from witnesses.
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“It’s really tight, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But I believe that if we continue to work as hard as we’re working, we’re likely to achieve that timeline.”