Energy is Canada’s ‘family business,’ benefiting all Canadians: CIBC CEO

CALGARY — The chief executive of CIBC says the energy sector is Canada’s “family business” and the Trans Mountain pipeline project must be done without further debate in parliament or cabinet and put into “private hands.”

Victor Dodig says that he understands the “contentious nature” of the TMX expansion project, but it is “unambiguously in the national interest.”

Dodig adds in his comments at the Economic Club of Canada in Calgary today that Canada not only needs to maintain its position as a leader in “responsible energy development,” but grow it for “the benefit of Alberta and all Canadians.”

His comments today come one day after Encana Corp. announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Calgary to the U.S. and changing its name to Ovintiv Inc.

Dodig said yesterday’s announcement “underscores the urgency” for action, and that Canada needs to build a modern, regulatory framework that allows projects to be built “in good time.”

He added that we must also take more steps to address climate change, suggesting a tailored tax credit that would encourage both carbon capture and sequestration, similar to a measure that already exists in the U.S.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2019.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ECA)

The Canadian Press