© Provided by The Canadian Press
SAINT-JEAN, NL — As Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil industry faces more hesitation from Ottawa, the provincial energy minister says he is insensitive to comments from federal New Democrats that the Federal approval of a new oil field off Saint John will be very difficult to justify from an environmental point of view.
Andrew Parsons admits he expects opposition in Ottawa, particularly from the New Democratic Party (NDP), over Equinor’s ‘Northern Bay’ development project, which would open up a new oilfield regarding 500 km east of the island of Newfoundland.
But Minister Parsons assures that he is not worried that the opposition will affect the fate of this project, even with the announcement this week of a “support and confidence agreement” between the Liberals and the federal New Democrats for work on common priorities.
“I have had no conversations with the federal government regarding this, and we have received no indication that (this agreement) will have an impact on the decision,” he said in an interview Thursday. “I know we have federal support, and I know there are obviously people on the federal scene who are once morest the project. This is nothing new.”
Newfoundland and Labrador is eagerly awaiting a twice-delayed decision from federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to determine whether the environmental impacts of the Bay du Nord project will be minimal enough for it to go ahead. ‘before.
Mr. Guilbeault twice asked for more time, first last December and then once more in March. His decision is now expected next month.
On Thursday in Ottawa, Minister Guilbeault appeared before a Senate committee on energy and discussed the Bay du Nord project in the context of the war in Ukraine and the possibility of helping Europeans reduce their dependence on oil and Russian gas. He told Senator Claude Carignan that oil was “not a transitional energy” and that the Bay du Nord project will not solve Europe’s immediate energy problems.
Difficult to align with the climate
Earlier this week, the NDP said it would support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government in the House until 2025. In exchange, the Liberals agreed to work with the opposition NDP on several priorities, including the fight once morest climate change.
NDP Environment Critic Laurel Collins admitted on Wednesday that she struggled to see how the Liberals might endorse Bay du Nord and align it with national commitments to limit rising global temperatures. at 1.5°C.
The provincial Progressive Conservatives have said the deal between the two parties — and the influence it will give the NDP in Ottawa — might spell the death sentence for Bay du Nord.
Meanwhile, Ottawa has suspended a new tender for offshore exploration permits from Newfoundland and Labrador. Minister Parsons announced Wednesday that the federal government had requested a delay of up to 90 days because it needed more time for the review.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Thursday that his department had asked for time because some of the areas being tendered overlap with marine protected areas, “and the intentions around marine protected areas.”
Wilkinson told reporters that nothing should be deducted from the delay, which he said is not unusual. But a spokesman for the provincial offshore oil regulator said Thursday it was the first time Ottawa had suspended a tender in this way.
The “kryptonite” of the liberals
Alex Marland, a professor of political science at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, said the delays with Bay du Nord indicate Ottawa is going through a “really difficult time with this particular file.”
“Every political party has its kryptonite – something that tears it apart,” Mr. Marland said Thursday. For liberals, he says, kryptonite is climate change and their desire to make meaningful progress in combating it, while facing pressure to support oil and gas.
As for the ability of the federal NDP to influence the Liberals’ decision on Bay du Nord, Professor Marland points out that the two parties have not decided to form a coalition government – the New Democrats are therefore not sitting around the table in the office.
According to Mr. Marland, the real indication of the federal Liberals’ position on Bay du Nord is actually in their election promises.
“They didn’t campaign saying, ‘We’re going to support the oil and gas industry.’ They campaigned saying they were going to take action on climate change.”
Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
