B.C. close to MOU with Ottawa that may include Massey Tunnel replacement funding

The B.C. premier’s trade mission to China is being cut short so he can come back to Canada for a significant federal announcement.

Anti-pipeline activists fanned out across the country Thursday—including outside the office for Vancouver Liberal MP Hedy Fry—pushing back on the memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Ottawa for a proposed pipeline to B.C.’s coast.

“The federal government is propping up Big Oil with all kinds of money, and it’s about time for that to stop,” said protest organizer Andrea Godding.

Alberta is expected to formally apply for federal approval for that pipeline by July 1. B.C. Premier David Eby has repeatedly opposed the idea.

On Thursday, Eby said he’s cutting short his upcoming trade trip to China—down to just three days—because news about another MOU for B.C. is pending.

“The federal government has asked me to be available in early July for a potential announcement of a finalized MOU,” he told reporters.

Eby has long grumbled to Prime Minister Mark Carney that B.C. doesn’t get its fair share from Ottawa. Now he says negotiations on that front may yield an announcement in one week, although the details remain cloudy.

“We’re focusing our conversations on B.C. projects, major infrastructure projects like the Massey Tunnel (replacement) and federal participation in the North Coast Transmission Line,” Eby said. “It’s going to create economic opportunity across the province. We are not focusing on Alberta’s projects, that’s something Alberta’s MOU did.”

The B.C. Conservatives say a pipeline to B.C.’s coast should be something the province backs, particularly in light of the province’s projected $13.3 deficit.

“This is something that we should be supporting, and David Eby once again seems to be focused only on projects that he can have a government subsidy to in terms of First Nation involvement,” former leader John Rustad said Thursday.