Mr. Speaker, on February 18, 2022, the Government of Canada provided an update on the Trans Mountain expansion project. With 50%t of the pipeline already built and the project significantly de-risked, the government announced that no additional public money will be spent on the project and that Trans Mountain Corporation would secure the funding necessary to complete the project with third party financing.
The corporation has now secured up to $10 billion in third party financing with a group of Canadian financial institutions. These monies will be used to fund the project's construction costs.The financing will not change the cost estimate and 2023 completion date outlined in February 2022.
As part of this process, the Government of Canada is providing a loan guarantee on behalf of the corporation. This is a common practice that puts in place an insurance policy for the institutions that have invested in the project. It does not reflect any new public spending. The corporation will pay a fee to the government for this guarantee. The Government of Canada has not spent any money to put this guarantee in place.
This project is in the national interest and will make Canada and the Canadian economy more sovereign and more resilient. The Government of Canada intends to launch a divestment process after the expansion project is further de-risked and after further consultation with Indigenous groups about economic participation has progressed.