B.C. Premier Eby says he's not opposed to privately backed oil pipeline to north coast

As Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushes for a crude oil pipeline to British Columbia's north coast, B.C. Premier David Eby says he's not simply saying no.

Instead, Eby said he's against the public funding of such a pipeline.

"What I don't support is tens of billions of dollars in federal subsidy going to build this new pipeline when we already own a pipeline that empties into British Columbia and has significant additional capacity — 200,000 barrels," Eby said on Sunday, referring to the Trans Mountain pipeline.

He added there's no company currently advocating for Smith's pipeline proposal.

"There's no money for it," Eby told CBC's chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

Smith has been advocating for the bitumen pipeline to B.C.'s northern tidewaters and said she is actively searching for interested private sector companies.

She has suggested the pipeline's end point be in Prince Rupert, B.C., avoiding the cancelled Northern Gateway pipeline's proposed terminus in another northern B.C. port, Kitimat.

But Eby said he wants to prioritize projects that are "shovel-ready."

"We have major projects with private proponents, cash on the table, ready to go to hire people and build — let's focus on those," he said.

Eby listed B.C. energy projects including the LNG Canada project in Kitimat and the Ksi Lisims LNG project north of Prince Rupert, as well as major hydroelectric projects, mining projects in the northwest, and various wind and solar projects that he said will be interconnected with the Yukon and Alberta.

Eby also highlighted the fact that he recently signed onto a memorandum of understanding with western premiers around a trade corridor that could include major energy projects such as heavy oil.

But he noted there are major issues with a proposal for a pipeline, particularly the federal tanker ban on the north coast.

The ban prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil, or persistent oil products, from stopping, loading, or unloading at ports in a restricted area covering nearly the entire north coast.

Smith has said she will convince Eby of the pipeline's merits, which she said could include billions in revenue.