Article content continued

But the controversial project appeared dead in the water after Trudeau won a majority government while declaring that B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest was “no place” for an oil pipeline.

The Liberal platform also promised an oil tanker moratorium along the entire north coast.

Trudeau’s strongest statement against the project came in 2014, when he said that if he “won the honour of serving as prime minister, the Northern Gateway pipeline would not happen.”

But Carruthers, whose firm has increased Aboriginal ownership stake in the project from 10 to 33 per cent, said he believes the government is now open-minded.

“There’s strong recognition (by Ottawa) of the importance of accessing new large and diversified markets for Canada’s resources,” he said in an interview.

Carruthers, president of the Northern Gateway Limited Partnership that’s owned by Enbridge, a handful of other partners and northern B.C. Aboriginal groups, said Ottawa and the company are “aligned fully” on the need for “the highest environmental standards” and “strong participation” from First Nations and Metis communities.

Asked about the Liberal moratorium campaign pledge, he said that would cost Aboriginal communities about $2 billion in economic development.

“And I believe the government is also hearing concerns directly from many other impacted organizations.”

Photo by Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Carr, who would say only that the government is weighing its options, would not comment on Enbridge’s public statement urging that the federal government proceed with a new round of consultations with indigenous communities impacted by the pipeline.