Ottawa offers to pay some costs of Mackenzie pipeline: Prentice

Environment Minister Jim Prentice, speaking at a news conference in Calgary on Monday, said the government has made a financial offer to support the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline, but wouldn't get specific. (CBC)

The Canadian government has made a financial offer to the backers of the long-proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline in the Northwest Territories, says the federal minister responsible for pipelines.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice says the government's offer includes "a contribution to infrastructure and pre-construction costs," according to a release sent Monday.

However, Prentice would not disclose how much federal money is on the table, since negotiations are underway.

The federal contribution will not be part of any economic stimulus package to be included in the budget being released Jan. 27, Prentice added.

A corporate consortium led by Imperial Oil Ltd. wants to build a 1,220-kilometre pipeline through the Northwest Territories to Alberta, where natural gas would then flow to markets in the rest of North America.

If approved, the Mackenzie Valley pipeline would be the largest private construction project in Canada.

Other companies in the consortium include ExxonMobil Canada, Shell Canada Ltd. and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, which represents aboriginal communities along the pipeline's proposed route.

Pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. also has a stake in the project, which has been stalled for years while it goes through the regulatory process.

The project proposal is being reviewed by the Joint Review Panel, which is examining the impacts the pipeline could have on the environment and people along its proposed route.

With files from the Canadian Press