Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announces support for pipeline project

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his support to expand a pipeline in the western part of the country, saying doing so is of “national interest.”

“Hundreds of thousands of Canadians who work long hours every day to put food on the table and build this country depend on this project to be built,” Trudeau said in a press conference Saturday. “It means people in the oil patch are hurting, have been hurting for years, and we stand with them.”

The Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion was “proposed in response to requests from oil companies to help them reach new markets by expanding the capacity of North America’s only pipeline with access to the West Coast,” according to its website.

The project is headed by American infrastructure company, Kinder Morgan.

The original Trans Mountain Pipeline was built in 1953 and still operates today. According to the project’s website, the expansion will install over 600 miles of new pipeline and reactivate over 100 miles of existing pipeline. The estimated cost of the expansion is $5.8 million ($7.4 million Canadian dollars), according to its website.

Trudeau did not confirm if the Canadian government will fund the pipeline, but said, “We have engaged in financial discussions with the pipeline owner, Kinder Morgan.”

Trudeau said these discussions will not be made public.