据布赖恩·普拉特报道，加拿大能源部长蒂姆·霍奇森表示，加拿大计划在西海岸修建一条大型石油管道，这一项目将成为检验政府能否快速推进大型工程并吸引私营部门投资的“试金石”。
By Brian Platt Canada’s plan to build a major oil pipeline to its west coast is a “litmus test” for how quickly the government can get big projects built and attract private sector investment, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said.
这条现被称为“太平洋链接”的管道预计每天能将100万桶原油从阿尔伯塔省的油砂产区输送至温哥华附近的新码头。
The pipeline, now dubbed the Pacific Link, is expected to transport 1 million barrels a day from Alberta’s oil sands to a new terminal near Vancouver.
周四，加拿大总理马克·卡尼宣布将该项目列为“国家利益项目”。这一认定将触发相关立法程序，使项目实际上获得批准，同时监管重点也将转向确定其建设所需满足的各项条件。按照规划，项目预计在一年后动工，并于2030年代初开始输油。
On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced it would be designated as a project of “national interest.”That triggers legislation that effectively deems it approved, and focuses the regulatory process on what conditions should be placed on its construction. The aim is to begin work on it in about a year, and have it shipping oil in the early 2030s.
霍奇森在接受彭博新闻社采访时指出，目前“太平洋链接”项目的资金几乎全部由阿尔伯塔省及加拿大联邦政府提供，其原因在于投资者对加拿大的监管环境仍心存疑虑。
For now, the Pacific Link is almost entirely funded by the governments of Alberta and Canada, but that’s because investors still have significant doubts about the country’s regulatory environment, Hodgson said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
“目前的情况是，从私营部门掌握的数据来看，历史上在加拿大新建大型石油管道的难度极大，”霍奇森说道。他指出，过去诸多类似项目均因监管与政治层面的延误，导致工期严重滞后且预算大幅超支。
“We’re in a world today where the data points that the private sector have around major new oil pipelines is they’re incredibly hard to build in Canada, historically,” Hodgson said, noting past projects have blown past deadlines and budget estimates in large part because of regulatory and political delays.
他补充道，如果“太平洋链接”项目能打破这一惯例，私营投资者想必也会乐于增加持股比例。目前，唯一参与该项目的私营企业是彭比纳管道公司，该公司已承诺至少持有10%的股份，并拥有将持股比例提高至20%的选择权。
If Pacific Link can defy that trend, private investors will likely be keen to step in with a larger ownership stake, he said. So far, the only private sector company to take a piece of the project is Pembina Pipeline Corp., which has signed up for at least 10% with an option to increase that to 20%.
加拿大最近建成的一条大型原油管道——跨山输油管道扩建项目，最终建设成本高达约340亿加元（约合239亿美元），是原预算的六倍有余；其实际开工时间也比原计划推迟了数年。
The last large crude pipeline built in Canada, the Trans Mountain expansion, ended up costing about C$34 billion ($23.9 billion) to build — more than six times the original estimate — and its start date was several years later than originally planned.
“太平洋连接项目是试金石，”霍奇森评价该项目时说。“它正在向加拿大以及世界各地的资本配置者表明，我们将再次懂得如何以正确的方式建设大型基础设施项目。”
“This project is the litmus test,” Hodgson said of the Pacific Link. “It is demonstrating to capital allocators in Canada and around the world that we will know how to build major infrastructure projects again the right way.”
他说，“国家利益”认定至关重要，因为它向投资者表明，“我们会在流程早期明确告知政府是否支持该项目。”除彭宾纳公司持有的股份外，太平洋连接项目将由加拿大和艾伯塔省共同持有，但该计划允许原住民群体购买至少10%的股权。
The national-interest designation is key, he said, because it tells investors that “we are going to give you a clear indication early in the process whether or not the government supports it.”Beyond Pembina’s stake, the Pacific Link will be jointly owned by Canada and the province of Alberta, though the plan is to allow Indigenous groups to purchase at least 10% of the equity.
这条新管道将由跨山公司开发，该公司由加拿大政府拥有，负责运营该国唯一另一条将石油输送至沿海港口的管道。
The new pipeline will be developed by Trans Mountain Corp., a firm owned by the Canadian government that operates the only other pipeline in the country that transports oil to a coastal port.
然而，“国家利益”认定尚未接受司法检验，环保人士和部分原住民群体几乎肯定会提出挑战。加拿大宪法规定，政府有义务就受大型项目影响的原住民社区进行协商；如果快速推进的程序未能履行这一义务，相关立法就有被推翻的风险。
However, the “national interest” designation has not yet been tested in the courts, and environmentalists and some Indigenous groups are almost certain to challenge it. Canada has a constitutional “duty to consult” with Indigenous communities affected by large projects, and the legislation is at risk of being struck down if the fast-tracked process falls short of that obligation.
十年前，联邦法院阻止了恩布里奇公司拟建的“北方门户”管道。该管道计划从艾伯塔省通往不列颠哥伦比亚省北部海岸。法院裁定，政府未能就受该项目影响的原住民社区进行实质性协商。
A decade ago, a federal court blocked Enbridge Inc.’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to the northern coast of BC, ruling that the government failed to meaningfully consult with Indigenous communities affected by the project.
霍奇森说，他确信新法律完全符合这一责任要求，因为该法律要求政府既要在预先列名阶段（这一阶段已经完成），也要在为项目批准设定条件时与原住民社区进行协商。
Hodgson said he’s convinced the new law fully complies with that responsibility, as it requires the government to consult both during the pre-listing period, which has already happened, and when setting conditions for the project’s approval.
霍奇森说，届时将举行广泛的公开听证会以及与原住民社区的会议，其中大部分将由加拿大能源监管机构负责进行。
There will be extensive public hearings and meetings with Indigenous communities, and much of it will be run by Canada’s energy regulator, Hodgson said.
“这将是一个公开的过程，也将是一个透明的过程，”他说。“它将审视通常需要考虑的所有方面：项目的技术层面、环境、社会、文化，以及项目的健康、安全和安保要素。”周四宣布时，一些原住民领袖与卡尼一同出席，但其他团体已经明确表示，它们计划动用一切可用手段反对该提案。
“It will be a public process, it will be a transparent process,” he said. “It will look at all the typical things you would see: the technical aspects of the project, the environmental, the social, the cultural, the health, safety and security elements of the project.”While some Indigenous leaders appeared alongside Carney at Thursday’s announcement, other groups have already made clear they plan to fight the proposal with all tools available.
“太平洋连接管道的独特之处在于，它抛开了我们关系的基本支柱，包括尊重、共同沟通，以及在未进行任何形式的可信协商的情况下占用我们领地内的土地，”不列颠哥伦比亚省印第安酋长联盟主席、大酋长斯图尔特·菲利普在一份声明中表示。
“The Pacific Link pipeline is unique in that it has tossed aside the fundamental pillars of our relationship in terms of respect, in terms of shared communication, and taking up lands in our territories without any form of credible consultation,” Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said in a statement.
“我们有责任，也有义务，在法律允许的最大范围内保护我们的权利，而且我们完全打算这样做，”菲利普说。
“We have a duty and an obligation to protect our rights to the fullest extent of the law and we have every intention of doing that,” Phillip said.