PSAC Relieved Critical Pipeline Infrastructure Will Be Built However Concerns Linger

CALGARY, ALBERTA, May 29, 2018 – The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) is pleased and relieved that the federal government has taken steps to ensure that the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) will be built. At stake with this project are thousands of jobs; access to tidewater for our resources to obtain a fair price for our oil; economic benefits for all Canadians including Indigenous communities; and revenues to governments for social programs such as health care, education and roads.

The oil and gas industry supports over 540,000 jobs across the country and this pipeline will provide not only jobs during construction but also ongoing jobs required to extract the resource that will fill the pipeline, and the jobs from a Canadian supply-chain that provides the manufactured goods and products that support the industry.

Scores of Indigenous communities are counting on this economic development as well to help lift them out of poverty, to provide skills training and jobs, and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Reduction of global GHG emissions can also be achieved by providing our responsibly developed resources to displace wood, coal and less environmentally produced oil from around the globe.

PSAC however is deeply concerned that in light of opposition, and in order for the project to move forward, government intervention was required. PSAC President & CEO Tom Whalen commented “Now, Canadians must ask themselves if we have succumbed to mob rule in our country over common sense and the rule of law.” TMX was federally approved following one of the most comprehensive reviews in history but was allowed to be hamstrung by extremists and endless challenges to federal authority in a project that has been deemed in the national interest.

“We are concerned and disappointed too, that a small minority of activists and political gamesmanship have led us to this situation, putting taxpayers on the hook for a project that was fully funded by private investment capital,” said Scott Van Vliet, PSAC Chair, and Founder & CEO of Environmental Refuelling Systems, Inc. “What will this mean for our national unity and continued uncertainty for investor confidence in Canada?” he continued.

PSAC fears that we have allowed polarized minority politics to jeopardize investment in Canada and put our energy future at risk with this crisis. Oh Canada, where does this leave us now?
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada is the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry. PSAC is Working Energy and as the voice of this sector, advocates for its members to enable the continued innovation, technological advancement and in-the-field experience they supply to Canada’s energy explorers and producers, helping to increase efficiency, improve safety and protect the environment.

For more information, contact:

Tom Whalen, President and CEO
Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC)
Email: media@psac.ca
Phone: 403.264.4195

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