Trudeau approves Equinor’s $12-billion offshore oil project: report
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault gave the green light to the Bay du Nord oil project off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
It’s a politically risky move for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that complicates his efforts to hit aggressive emission targets for the oil and gas sector and could potentially alienate the pro-environment bloc within the governing Liberal Party. Yet Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also prompted policy-makers to reconsider the importance of the nation’s vast oil reserves to Canada’s economic security.
In the case of Bay du Nord, the government is expected to argue that the project’s emissions are lower than other methods of oil production.
Domestic politics are also at play in the decision. While the Liberals do poorly in Canada’s western oil-producing regions, they place a high value on seats in the Atlantic provinces and several cabinet ministers are from the area.
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