Jul 27, 2018   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Trans Mountain Expansion Project Worksite Receives Blessing From Enoch Cree Nation

ENOCH CREE NATION, AB, July 27, 2018 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to making investments that create good, well-paying jobs that help strengthen and grow the middle class; that help get Canada's resources to world markets; and that deliver economic benefits for all Canadians, now and for years to come. These include the recent commercial agreement with Kinder Morgan to secure the timely completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

Today, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, joined members of the Enoch Cree Nation, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Kinder Morgan Canada President Ian Anderson at the Enoch Cree Stockpile Site for a special land blessing ceremony. Work will soon begin at this location to prepare for storing pipe, fittings, valves and other materials needed to continue construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

The blessing ceremony marks an important milestone in the ongoing construction of the project. It affirms the local community's support for the project, demonstrates the importance of the partnerships with Indigenous communities and represents another step forward on the path to reconciliation between the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples.

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project is in Canada's national interest. In addition to creating more jobs for hard-working Canadians, it will allow Canada to develop its natural resources and access new markets that will provide a fair price for those resources. It will also allow Canada to ensure greater investor confidence, while respecting Indigenous communities and protecting our environment.

Quotes

"Canada is a place where the environment and the economy go hand in hand and where projects that are in the national interest get built. The blessing received today is an important milestone in the ongoing construction of this project, and it also reflects our government's important partnership with all Indigenous people in Canada, including the Enoch Cree Nation."

The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi
Minister of Natural Resources

"Today's blessing ceremony is further recognition of the importance of getting this project built. The construction and operation of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project will deliver significant economic benefits to communities across Alberta and British Columbia -- including Indigenous communities like Enoch Cree Nation -- as well as for Canada as a whole."

The Honourable Bill Morneau
Minister of Finance

"Today's blessing is an important step forward in the construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. It demonstrates just how integral our Indigenous communities are to the success of this pipeline and Alberta and Canada's economic future. With this blessing, construction for the Enoch Cree Stockpile Site can begin and we move that much closer to getting this pipeline built."

Rachel Notley
Premier of Alberta

"We are proud of the relationship we have built with Trans Mountain and to partner with them on this project. This worksite will allow us to create opportunities for our people and community for many years to come."

Billy Morin
Chief, Enoch Cree Nation

Quick Facts

    --  On May 29, recognizing the project as an investment in Canada's future,
        the Government of Canada announced it had reached an agreement with
        Kinder Morgan to purchase the company's Trans Mountain Expansion
        Project, related pipeline and terminal assets for $4.5 billion, subject
        to certain conditions. This agreement included provisions to protect the
        summer construction season and also thousands of good, well-paying jobs
        for Canadians, including members of Indigenous communities.
    --  The Trans Mountain Expansion Project involves building a new pipeline
        along the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline running from Edmonton,
        Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia, and expanding the capacity of the
        Westridge Marine terminal in Burnaby.
    --  This expansion will increase daily capacity from 300,000 to 890,000
        barrels, while improving market access to the U.S. Pacific Coast and
        Northeast Asia.
    --  In the course of the federal review of this project, the Government of
        Canada consulted 117 potentially affected Indigenous rights holders,
        marking the deepest federal consultation to date on a major project.
    --  Over the coming months, construction activities will be accelerating,
        and from Edmonton to Burnaby, Canadians are already hard at work
        developing stockpile sites, construction yards and camps.

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada