There might be a growing number of roadblocks to economic development in B.C., but there’s also hope on the horizon for 2017. Opposition over the past year has targeted options for getting the country’s land-locked fossil fuel energy reserves to world markets. It killed Enbridge Inc.’s $7.9 billion Northern Gateway pipeline project and, along with it, what Enbridge estimated would have been $2 billion worth of economic benefits for its 31 aboriginal partners. Kinder Morgan’s $6.8 billion Trans Mountain expansion project was approved by the federal government, but it must still meet 157 conditions and an additional five environmental requirements from B.C.’s provincial government.
So it remains a long way from reality, especially when expected court battles are factored into the equation.
Fears are consequently rising in some quarters that B.C. and other parts of the country are not open for business when it comes to resource development and trade.
So it’s encouraging that some major global players still see the province as a good investment bet.
In early December, DP World, which owns Prince Rupert’s Fairview and Vancouver’s Centerm container cargo terminals, announced it was partnering with Canada’s second-largest pension fund manager to invest in container terminals around the world. DP World’s deal with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec generated no breathless headlines like those chronicling opposition to enterprise, but its importance for future B.C. trade prospects can’t be overstated.
Because of their performance and potential, the first recipients of the $5 billion investment pool will be DP World’s two B.C. container terminals.
That says much about B.C.’s business outlook, considering that DP World has 77 marine and inland terminals in 40 countries and plans to invest in more.
Despite political and activist blowback on so many industrial development projects on the West Coast, investment foresight and economic potential are still managing to retain a foothold somewhere in the province.
