The Alberta & Alaska MERGER They Tried To Keep SECRET!
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Summary
A major infrastructure project clears a significant hurdle and it could lead to more exports from Canada s oil patch. The Alaska to Alberta Railway would start in the heart of the oil sands and serve as a transportation corridor to Anchorage and then on to Asia. But as Michael Couture reports, a number of steps remain before the project becomes a reality.
Transcript
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What if I told you there was a connection, an economic union between Alberta and Alaska
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that you probably had no idea existed, a project so big that it would change the relationship
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between the state of Alaska and the province of Alberta forever. It would also bring massive
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change to Canada's north, including the Yukon and northern British Columbia, creating thousands of
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jobs for Americans in Alaska as well as Albertans. A major infrastructure project cleared a significant
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hurdle and it could lead to more exports from Canada's oil patch. The Alaska to Alberta Railway
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would start in the heart of the oil sands and serve as a transportation corridor to Anchorage and then
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on to Asia. But as Michael Couture reports, a number of steps remain before the project becomes a reality.
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The proposed project is called the Alaska to Alberta Railway and would stretch more than
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2,500 kilometres from Fort McMurray to the port in Anchorage. It's still in the planning stages,
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but the company is already talking about economic benefits for northern Canada.
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This is going to bring, you know, 18,000 plus jobs during construction.
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It's also being touted as a lifeline for other supplies to flow faster to northern communities.
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The project was just given a presidential permit to go ahead, but the issue could be on this side of
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the border. The Liberal government had been criticized by the courts for not properly consulting Indigenous
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communities on the Trans Mountain Pipeline project leading to delays.
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I am very pleased to have the opportunity to follow up on a very exciting issue that I first raised in this
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House last month, the Alaska to Alberta Railway. I was glad to see in the news last month the
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announcement by the Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation that they had secured the
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necessary American permit to move that project forward. This railway will be tremendously beneficial
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to Canadians for a number of reasons. First, the costs of this railway are all being paid for
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by the private sector. The Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation is a private sector business
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that is willing to put up $17 billion of investors' money to move that project forward. The only ask of the
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federal government is to rubber stamp that permit so that the project can move ahead. Second, this project will
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create jobs, lots of jobs, 28,000 good high paying jobs for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people
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in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the rest of Western Canada. A few years back, a private company
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called A2A Rail pitched a massive line running from Northern Alberta up through the Yukon and into Alaska,
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opening a direct route to deep sea water ports and moving Alberta resources to global markets
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faster. It was touted as a game changer with billions in investment and thousands of jobs.
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But in 2021, the project was paused. The CBC reported that A2A filed for creditor protection
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after its main financer collapsed and financial investigations surfaced. Fast forward to today and
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the red line isn't dead, it's just sitting on the shelf. Premier Daniel Smith and Alaska's governor met as
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recently as last year and said that they still see value in reviving the Fermat Miri to Alaska corridor,
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calling it a shared priority between the two jurisdictions. And here's the real takeaway. Even
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if the project is paused currently, it proves that Alberta and the United States share a lot more in
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common than Alberta does with the rest of Canada. I mean, literally think about it. You have British
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Columbia, which is supposed to be part of the same country as Alberta, making it nearly impossible for
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Alberta to build a pipeline to the north, saying they're not interested in Alberta's dirty oil. You have
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the governor of Alaska, just north of BC saying, work with us, we'd be happy to have you. You're looking at
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two sides much more willing to work with each other in energy, trade and transportation. Plus,
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they seem to have a lot more in common, culturally speaking, and priority wise. This entire situation
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paints a very clear picture, especially when it comes to the topic of Alberta independence, or even
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Alberta 51. While so-called fellow Canadians in the BC government seem to be impossible to work with,
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the state of Alaska is more than ready to work with Alberta to bring our product to their ports. You
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also have a president in Washington DC who approved the project previously very quickly and views Alberta
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with a favorable eye, unlike the Liberals in Ottawa. Seems fairly easy to decide which partner to work with,
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don't you think? Okay, so what has happened with this massive project since they announced that it
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will be paused? The CBC had an article dated June 23rd 2021 explaining what had happened up to that point.
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Title goes, Alberta to Alaska Rail Project files for creditor protection after lender goes into receivership
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against bankruptcy. This is dated June of 2021. A2A Rail, the corporation pledging to build a $22 billion
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freight railway connecting Alaska and Alberta had filed for creditor protection. The Calgary-based
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company said the protection will allow it to pursue a court supervised sale or refinancing of the
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development stage of the project after its main lender, Bridging Finance, was placed in receivership in April.
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Quote, earlier this month, the court-appointed receiver of Bridging Finance, Price Waterhouse
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Coopers, called a $149 million loan made to A2A by Bridging Finance. To protect against the company's
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assets being liquidated, A2A obtained a creditor protection late Friday, the company said in a
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release Wednesday. Questions surround company's founder. A2A Rail said the refinancing process will not
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involve company founder Sean Makoshin and instead will be driven by a third-party consultant.
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An investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission found numerous financial irregularities
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surrounding Makoshin's dealings with Bridging. The founder's name has been removed from A2A Rail's
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website. According to the commission's investigation, one of Makoshin's companies made
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19.5 million in undisclosed payments to the personal check-in account of Bridging's CEO
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David Sharp during the same period that Bridging loaned more than a hundred million to Makoshin's
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other companies. Millions of dollars pledged for A2A Rail also went to Makoshin's personal bank account
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into an apparently unrelated company controlled by him. Oh boy, so there were financial shenanigans going
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on with the with the CEO, the main guy, apparently. Sharp closed his personal account just days after
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commission enforcement, after commission enforcement staff questioned him about his relationship with
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Makoshin. Okay, so clearly some something sketchy was going on with the company and its finances.
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And as of 2021, they went into bankruptcy at the time, basically. So that's what was happening up until
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2021. We have more recent developments as of 2024. Last year, Premier Daniel Smith visited Alaska
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and met with the governor. And they both apparently spoke in regards to reviving this project and how
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essential it would be. Here's a tweet from Premier Daniel Smith again from last year.
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I'm flying back from Alaska this morning, truly inspired. Despite a challenging landscape and climate,
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the Alaskan people have worked hard to build an incredible home. It reminds me a lot of Alberta.
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Now they're very similar. I had the great honor to attend the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference and meet
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with key stakeholders within government, industry and indigenous communities over the past two days.
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I want to thank Governor Don Levy, Don Levy, however you pronounce it, and the Alaskan people for their
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hospitality. We forged new alliances and partnerships on this mission. And I'm excited of what the future holds
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for Alaska for Alaska and Alberta. A lot friendlier, a much friendlier meeting than she's ever had
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with British Columbia, our fellow Canadians just west of us. Go figure. So here's an article from the
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Western Standard giving an update on the situation with this huge project connecting Alberta and Alaska.
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The title goes, Smith, Alaska Governor Tout Rail Line from Fort Mac at Conference. Alberta Premier
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Daniel Smith has reflated the idea of a 2,600-kilometer rail line from Fort McMurray to Anchorage, Alaska,
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with her Alaskan counterpart, Governor Mike Don Levy, or Don Levy. Speaking at an energy conference in the
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state capitol on the weekend, Smith and, let's call him Don, Smith and Don pitched the idea of reviving the
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line known as A to A between Delta Junction and Fort Mac via Fort Nelson, British Columbia.
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In 2020, then President Donald Trump issued a permit granting approval for the rail project,
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but it never got past the planning stages. In 2021, the company behind the project and the proposal
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went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy after racking up $212.9 million in debt. At the time of the filing,
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its only assets were consulting reports and intellectual property. That's the shenanigans that were going
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on back in 2021. Yikes. And you got the tweet from the Premier about visiting Alaska. In 2021, the Ontario
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Securities Commission began investigating irregularities in the business dealings between the main
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financer of the A to A project, Bridging Finance, and A to A's President, Sean McCoshen. The OSC alleged that
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following the funding of loans to various McCoshen companies, McCoshen funneled a total of 19.5
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million to Bridging CEO, David Sharp. Yikes. Additionally, the OSC also alleged that millions
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of dollars pledged for A to A rail also went to McCoshen's personal bank account and to an apparently
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unrelated company controlled by him. You're not going to tell me that such a massive,
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hugely significant project was stalled, paused because of two crooks. Really, a project of
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continental significance being paused because of two allegedly corrupt men. Incredible. As of 2020,
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the project was estimated to cost 20 billion. Under the proposal, Alberta oil would have been shipped
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by rail to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal for export through Valdez on the coast. Port of Valdez,
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that is, just south of Anchorage. The idea has been floated in various incarnations since at least
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1898. Incredible. This time, however, the link was seen as an alternative to the cancelled Northern
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Gateway Pipeline project to Kitimat, British Columbia, which Premier Danielle Smith is pursuing today, by the
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way. And the Premier of British Columbia is making it impossible for her to do. So you have a massive
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project of epic proportions, something that would absolutely change the landscape for Canada's north,
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as well as the state of Alaska, which unfortunately at this time is not connected to the rest of North
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America, to the rest of North America's rail connections. This would have made Alberta and Alaska
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significantly wealthier. And the project was paused, shelved, because two corrupt individuals were at the
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helm of the project, according to reports. But then, as recently as last year, you have Premier Smith
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meeting with the governor of Alaska, and the meeting was all positive. Apparently, both the governor and
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the Premier indicated indicated how important that particular project would be for both of their
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jurisdictions. I really hope to see a project like that be built. You know how big of a statement it
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would be that Premier Smith just signs a deal with Trump and the governor of Alaska to build that railway?
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I mean, unfortunately, at the end of the day, it still depends on Canada, because Alberta is not connected
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to Alaska. It would have to go through Northern BC, or at the very least go up to the Northwest
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territories, then get into the Yukon, and then get into Alaska. Unfortunately for Alberta, it doesn't have
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direct access to the state of Alaska. It does have access to Montana, to the south, but it's not connected
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to Alaska. Incredible, though, to think that it's a lot easier to negotiate with American governors than
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it is to negotiate with fellow Canadian premiers. So Alberta independence is taking off. That's why most
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Albertans have given up on Canada. Hey, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for watching.
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