Alberta premier says ‘something’ coming from Ottawa on Trans Mountain impasse

TORONTO — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says the federal government has convinced her that “something specific” will be announced in the near future to try to break the impasse over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Notley made the comments after a meeting in Toronto with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

She says she will let Morneau discuss and outline what those specific actions will be.

The future of the Trans Mountain project was jeopardized this week after the operator, Kinder Morgan, said delay tactics by the B.C. government may make the $7.4-billion expansion of the existing line financially untenable.

Notley says the line, from Edmonton to Burnaby, is critical to getting more oil to the coast and fetching better prices to boost the Canadian economy.

She is introducing a bill next week to give her the power to limit oil to B.C., and says it will involve imposing new conditions on export licences.

“It would, as a result, allow us to direct the export of the product in a way that allows us to get the best price for the product and meets other generalized objectives,” Notley said Wednesday on a conference call from Toronto.

“That could include a number of things both restricting what goes in certain directions as well as suggesting certain mechanisms for it to be transported.”