Responsible resource development is one of the foundations of a healthy Canadian economy. A modern, federally regulated project such as the $5.4 billion
Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project is a good example of the resource sector’s potential to create jobs and long-term wealth for the country.
Canada has internationally recognized expertise in resource development in sectors such as mining, forestry and energy.
We’re a world leader in pipeline technology, for example.
Although there has never been an oil spill from tankers calling at Trans Mountain’s Burnaby marine facility, the expansion plan includes an enhanced system for getting Canadian oil safely to higher paying markets off the Pacific coast.
This will result in increased revenue for both federal and provincial governments.
Over the construction phase and 20 years of operations on the expanded line, about $18.5 billion in economic benefits will flow to government, which can be used to support important services such as health care and education, pay for more roads and bridges, and ultimately, ease the tax burden on families. The project creates 108,000 person-years of employment including skilled and semi-skilled labor, engineering, manufacturing, financial services, and transportation.
British Columbia gets more than 60 per cent of those jobs.
In B.C., direct pipeline construction spending includes:
$1.75 billion in the B.C. Interior;
$626 million in the Fraser Valley; and
$1.15 billion in Metro Vancouver.
Peak direct construction employment includes:
3,195 jobs in the B.C. Interior;
863 jobs in the Fraser Valley; and
1,204 jobs in Metro Vancouver.
Annual property tax payments after construction include:
$21.1 million to municipalities in the BC Interior;
$8.5 million in the Fraser Valley; and
$15.6 million in Metro Vancouver.
During construction, workers in communities along the project route will spend $560 million on services including accommodation and food.
A lot of that spending will take place through the winter months, which means increased room bookings and restaurant business during a traditionally slower season for smaller communities along the route.
Burnaby, home to the western terminal for the pipeline, can expect total municipal tax payments of at least $264 million over 20 years of operations.
Trans Mountain is already Burnaby’s third-largest taxpayer. New revenue each year could pay for 132 extra firefighters or the full cost of garbage collection. This project can be one of the important segments of a long, well-paid career in the construction industry, both for contractors and workers.
For Canada and for B.C., the Trans Mountain Expansion Project is a reminder that the resource industry continues to create opportunities that are essential to our province and nation’s economic health.
