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Construction on Trans Mountain pipeline
March 31, 2020

Construction on Trans Mountain pipeline goes on as First Nations concerned over COVID-19 risks

Construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline has continued despite concerns over workers contracting and spreading COVID-19, the Crown corporation building the $12.6-billion project said Monday.

Ian Anderson, the chief executive of publicly-owned Trans Mountain Corp., said the company is “continuously assessing this unprecedented situation” around COVID-19, as public-facing businesses across the country shut down in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. Some First Nations have called on Ottawa in recent days to shut down various major projects, including the construction of the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in northern B.C. and the Site C hydro dam.

Reporters asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whether construction of the Trans Mountain expansion would continue, given fears among First Nations that transient workers could spread the virus to their communities.

“There are several decisions being made across the country regarding who is an essential worker, who is not and what work can continue during this time and who should not,” he said, adding he’d aim to clarify the situation Tuesday around Trans Mountain, which the government bought for $4.4 billion in 2018.

Anderson said in a statement that the company “will do everything in our power to not put workers, communities and Indigenous peoples at any COVID-19 risk.”

Designating which industries fall under essential services is a provincial responsibility, rather than a federal one.

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