Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she will keep a close eye on how the Federal Government handles their new consultations for the Transmountain Pipeline Project. 

The Government has been given 22 weeks to review and consult with Indigenous communities on the pipeline. 

(Photo Courtesy: Government of Alberta)

Notley says her government will keep the Federal Liberals accountable to this timeline.

“Assuming that deadline is respected by the NEB, then that’s fine, that’s more or less the time we knew it was going to take. The issue is whether those timelines start to slip and that is where we will engage very ferociously should we see that happen.”

The 22 week period will put the consultations to February of 2019, just months before the next Provincial Election.

Notley says that should not be a factor.

“The gameplaying of an election campaign is something that we will deal with when we get to an election campaign. This is about providing the certainty that is necessary to workers, to employers to investors so they can understand that this pipeline will actually get built and that is entirely our focus.”

When asked why she’s not giving a hard deadline for the project to resume construction, Notley said she wants to respect the consultation process.

“The reality is, if you impose an arbitrary deadline on the accommodation and consultation process, you undermine the credibility of that process from the get-go and you give opponents greater opportunities to contest it yet another court case.”

Despite no certainty on the pipeline, Notley is confident that the Federal Government will listen to the needs of Albertans.

“I think they can’t help but listen to us because we’ve been very loud on many different fronts in many different settings over the course of the last four months. We will judge the other part of that question on the basis of what they deliver. It’s all about, do they deliver the pipeline or don’t they.”

Members of the opposition are split on this update. Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan says he’s pleased with the progress and will join Notley in keeping the Federal Government Accountable.

The United Conservatives aren’t buying it with Deputy Leader and Rocky View MLA Leela Aheer calling the 22 week review period another disappointment.

“With a 22 week National Energy Board review and later federal Cabinet deliberations, it seems no decision will be made until the end of May 2019 at the very earliest. In fact, one is left wondering if Prime Minister Trudeau is planning to delay his decision until after the fall 2019 Federal Election.”

Last month, the Supreme Court of Appeals rejected the original approval for the Transmountain Pipeline saying that the government did not properly consult with Indigenous communities.

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