TransCanada joins Energy East labor MOU

July 15, 2016
TransCanada Corp., four large pipeline unions, and the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding committed to the hiring of PLCAC and union members for work on the proposed Energy East Pipeline.

TransCanada Corp., four large pipeline unions, and the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding committed to the hiring of PLCAC and union members for work on the proposed Energy East Pipeline (OGJ Online, Aug. 24, 2015).

The pipeline, after conversion of the Canadian Mainline natural gas system and new construction, would carry 1.1 million b/d of crude oil from western Canada to refineries in eastern Canada and an export terminal in New Brunswick.

TransCanada filed the initial application for the 4,500-km project with the National Energy Board in October 2014 and a consolidated version of the application last May. A federal decision is expected in about 2 years.

The project faces opposition from environmentalists and some First Nation groups, especially in Ontario. First Nation opposition has stymied pipeline construction and expansion in western Canada.

Unions signing the MOU are the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Laborers International Union of North America, International Union of Operating Engineers, and Teamsters International.

A joint statement by the MOU signatories cited a Conference Board of Canada estimate that the Energy East project will create more than 14,000 direct and spin-off jobs/year in Canada during 9 years of development and construction and 3,300 direct and spin-off jobs/year during the first 20 years of operation.