Ottawa tells Suncor that planned mine expansion may not get approval

Ottawa is warning Canada’s biggest oil sands producer that its planned mine expansion may not meet climate targets.

In a letter to the head of Suncor Energy Inc., Mark Little,Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the amount of greenhouse gases that would be released by the company’s proposed Base Mine expansion “may not align” with the government’s carbon-reduction goals.

Guilbeault says the expansion would likely cause unacceptable environmental effects.

He says the federal Liberals are developing guidelines for how the emissions of new energy projects will be weighed against other proposals.

The letter is a response to Suncor’s request request for more time to submit its environmental impact statement, a request that was granted.

Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal says the company asked for more time to reduce the project’s environmental impact.

On Wednesday, the government approved an offshore oil development in Newfoundland that would emit significantly less carbon per barrel than Suncor’s proposal.

(Canadian Press)