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OTTAWA — Leaders from oil-rich provinces heaped criticism on Ottawa’s proposed energy reforms Thursday, warning that an absence of major amendments to Bill C-69 could choke off new pipeline projects proposed by the oil and gas sector.

In Senate committee hearings, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said that if the legislation is passed in its current form, major pipelines will continue to meet years-long legal delays and shrink investment in the province’s resource sector.

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“The only people making money will be lawyers,” she said.

Bill C-69 would introduce sweeping reforms to the review process for major energy projects, including anything from diamond mines to hydro dams.

The bill has become a rallying cry for alienated Western voters ever since Ottawa purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion last August, effectively nationalizing the project after its private-sector owner threatened to scrap it. Trans Mountain and other pipelines, such as Keystone XL and Northern Gateway, have been hindered or outright rejected in recent years due to prolonged regulatory and legal delays, prompting deep frustrations in the oil and gas sector.