It was announced today that the Government of Canada approved the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) 2021 System Expansion Project with 35 conditions. 

The $2.3-billion NGTL project will add 344 kilometres of new pipeline to the existing NOVA Gas Transmission system from west of Red Deer to near Grande Prairie. 

Canada Energy Regulator recommended the project for approval in February of this year, with 34 conditions.  

Ottawa says they’ve, “strengthened five conditions proposed by the regulator and added one new condition in order to better address impacts to section 35 Indigenous rights and help mitigate the disruption of the project’s construction on caribou habitat. 

“As part of these updated conditions, NGTL will now be required to restore 3,840 hectares of caribou habitat (30 times the size of the habitat impacted by the project) and seek to establish an Indigenous Working Group to assist with the planning for restoration and monitoring for the protection of the Little Smoky Caribou range.” 

Seamus O’Regan, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, who made the decision to approve the project, said, “We want good projects to get done, moving our natural resources to new markets and creating good jobs. This means meeting our duty to meaningfully consult with potentially impacted Indigenous communities and addressing risks to the environment and species at risk, particularly. By taking the time to do the hard work, good projects are being built in Canada.” 

Sonya Savage, Alberta’s Minister of Energy, released a statement on the approval.  

“Despite months of delay, we are pleased the federal government has approved this key infrastructure project, which will create significant economic benefits and good jobs for Albertans, at a time they are needed the most. We will review the details of the decision and work with TC Energy, the owner of the NGTL system, to ensure the project’s success. 

“The NGTL expansion will provide increased capacity that is critically important to market access for the Canadian natural gas industry, which has suffered from bottlenecks and capacity constraints to key markets in Eastern Canada and the United States. 

“This pipeline system expansion, vital to ensuring Alberta natural gas continues to trade competitively, is a multibillion-dollar private investment that will create 5,500 construction jobs and $817 million in labour income for Albertans. Overall, the project will also create an estimated $110 million in economic opportunities for Indigenous-led companies.” 

Minister Savage says that with the delays, much of the construction is not expected to start until 2021.