CALGARY, AB – The Business Council of Alberta would like to express deep disappointment with the decision by Teck Resources Limited to withdraw their application for the “Frontier” oil sands project, citing the primary reason as a lack of clear framework within Canada reconciling resource development and climate change.
This project had the potential to provide a generation of prosperity for many Canadians, was an environmental leader, and had an historic level of support from nearby Indigenous communities.
This focuses attention on a significant and urgent challenge faced by our nation: Canada does not have a national consensus on the integration of natural resources development and climate policy.
What Canada needs now is a formal process to reach a definitive conclusion. This is not the role of one company or one province; it is the responsibility of the federal government.
“Like a series of dominoes, our lack of general national agreement on this issue leads to a chain of symptoms,” said Adam Legge, President of the Business Council of Alberta. “It leads to a pressured regulatory process. This causes uncertainty for global investors, which results in reduced opportunity and prosperity for Canadians. Eventually this leads to heightened tensions and civil strife. Treating the symptoms is not the answer, this problem must be addressed at its source.”
We must come together as Canadians on a path forward. That means government, business, citizens, environment, Indigenous, labour stakeholders, and more, all working together.
The Business Council of Alberta and partners have already begun this work from the business perspective, and we commit to positively approach this challenge in good faith, pursuing compromise, and doing everything in our power to achieve the national consensus Canadians need.
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About the Business Council of Alberta
The Business Council of Alberta is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to building a better Alberta within a more dynamic Canada. Composed of the chief executives and leading entrepreneurs of the province’s largest enterprises, Council members are proud to represent the majority of Alberta’s private sector investment, job creation, exports and research and development. The Council is committed to working with leaders and stakeholders across Alberta in proposing bold and innovative public policy solutions and initiatives that will make life better for Albertans.
Feature Image: Teck Resources