Mayor Don Scott visited the nation’s capital lobbying the federal government to approve Teck’s proposed Frontier mine.
He is part of a delegation from Wood Buffalo sent to Ottawa to speak with the federal cabinet about the project.
Valued at $20.6-billion, Mayor Don Scott said foreign investors have their eyes on Parliament Hill for a decision.
“Fundamentally, one of the critical pieces that we’ve been advocating is it’s going to signal to the rest of the world that not only are the oilsands open for business, Canada is open for business, and Alberta is open for business.”
He added Wood Buffalo lost 1,000 jobs in the last month.
Frontier would create 7,000 construction jobs and another 2,500 jobs during its operations over its 41-year lifespan.
Rejecting the Frontier mine project, Mayor Scott said, would send a dangerous message.
“If an organization that’s gone through all these steps, has demonstrated the economic good, has made Indigenous relationships and agreements and environmental commitments, if not this project, then what project would ever be approved?”
Mayor Don Scott said Teck has the support of 14 Indigenous communities.
International opinion
Meanwhile, Canadian author Alice Munro joined dozens of other Nobel prizewinners urging the federal government to reject Teck’s Frontier mine.
The 2013 Nobel prizewinner for literature signed the letter stating “There is no room for expansion of the fossil-fuel sector.”
The letter, which they addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy P.M. Chrystia Freeland, appeared in a publication of the U.K. newsletter, The Guardian.
The signatories declared the project “an affront to our state of climate emergency”, and incompatible with Canada’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work toward Reconciliation.
The Frontier mine would produce at least four megatonnes of GHG emissions per year until 2066.
Hollywood stars Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, and Joaquin Phoenix also disprove Teck’s proposed project.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government must make a decision by the Feb. 28 deadline.
This article includes excerpts from the Canadian Press.
