Statement - Mackenzie Gas Project
http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/May2007/18/c3025.html
OTTAWA, May 18 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of
Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and
Non-Status Indians issued the following statement today regarding the
Mackenzie Gas Project:
In response to recent media coverage on the Mackenzie Gas Project, I
would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight on the federal
government's position on the project.
Canada's New Government is not considering ownership of the Mackenzie Gas
Project, and I have conveyed this message directly to the proponents. Any
suggestions or speculation that this may be the case are inaccurate,
misguided, and originate from ill-informed sources.
Furthermore, as I have stated on numerous occasions, the federal
government has absolutely no interest and no role in directly subsidizing a
private sector project. These issues have not been under discussion by the
government, either with the proponents or Aboriginal groups. Any suggestions
that the project is being driven by non-commercial interests such as
employment considerations or Aboriginal policy are completely incorrect and
ill-informed.
What is true is that the proponents are actively reviewing the
competitiveness of a northern gas pipeline. Driven by the escalating cost
estimates of the project, the proponents are assessing the competitiveness of
a pipeline in relation to other options, most notably the use of liquefied
natural gas terminals.
These are important discussions and considerations, and government
officials have been involved in these discussions, at a technical level. Our
position, which we have clearly communicated to the proponents, is that the
project would make economic sense as a "common carrier pipeline", and could
generate a rate of return consistent with other common carrier pipelines.
I understand the project has the potential to make an important
contribution to sustained economic activity for Northerners and all Canadians,
and to strong and healthy Aboriginal and Northern communities. But, it must
make sense in terms of its economics and as public policy.
