Eby fires back at Ford over suggestion B.C. would accept 2nd oil pipeline

B.C. Premier David Eby says he won’t be throwing his support behind a new oil pipeline through the province, dismissing Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s suggestion that Eby would change his mind.

Eby says in response to Ford’s remarks on Monday that the publicly-owned TMX pipeline is already running through B.C., and the province doesn’t support lifting the ban on oil tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast.

1:58 Premiers talk possible new pipeline out west

He says it’s not his job to tell Ford it’s “extremely unlikely” there will be a tunnel under Toronto’s Highway 401, or tell Alberta Premier Danielle Smith her “vision” for a pipeline connecting Alberta and northern B.C. is “many, many years off” with no proponent in sight.

Eby says his job instead is to protect the interests of British Columbia by bringing forward “shovel-ready” projects.

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Ford had said heading into a meeting between premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney that he was confident Eby and Carney would “work things out” regarding a second pipeline.

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Eby was speaking Tuesday from Osaka, Japan, on a 10-day trade mission in Asia, and deputy premier Niki Sharma represented B.C. at the meeting of premiers in Saskatoon.