The Regina Chamber of Commerce is reacting positively to the Supreme Court of Canada denying B.C.’s appeal of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
B.C.’s appeal would have restricted the product going into the expanded pipeline that is now owned by the government of Canada.
Chamber of Commerce CEO John Hopkins said this helps the western Canadian economy move ahead.
“When you look at the price of oil, you look at Brent Crude right now as we speak at $65.05 (per barrel) versus WTI which is $58.83 (per barrel),” Hopkins said. “That’s in large part why we’re trying to get pipelines built in this country so that we can access the world price for oil as opposed to WTI or the Western Canada Select, which is quite a bit lower than both of those.”
Hopkins said the price of Canadian oil has been hindered by a lack of access to tide water.
“Brent (Crude) is almost getting close to double the price, and that’s the price that we need to hit so it has a far bigger impact on the western Canadian economy and the Canadian economy,” Hopkins said. “That’s really where we need to be, and access to tide water is absolutely vital.”
Hopkins adds he finds it strange that no one protests foreign oil coming into Canada while oil from our oilsands is the most environmentally-regulated oil in the world and faces harsh criticism.
