The bill, titled Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act, will give Alberta the power to strike back at B.C. if the province continues to tie up the construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
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The pipeline expansion to the West Coast has been approved by the federal government, but B.C.is fighting it in the courts.
Kinder Morgan, the US -based pipeline builder, announced earlier this month that it was pulling back on spending for the project and gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government until May 31 to give a clear signal the project will proceed.
A talk between the premier of B.C. John Horgan, Notley and the prime minister was held just one day before the introduction of Bill 12. The PM who is now taking on Premier Horgan wouldn’t then take on Energy East opponent and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, a figure so formidable that he was defeated shortly afterward by a political novice.
The organisation said that already capital investment has been flowing south to the US and to other global markets – and that means lost jobs for Albertans and Canadians, lost revenue for innovation and technology development, lost tax revenues for social programs, health care and education. It’s a case that hopes to answer the constitutional question that’s at the root of the current Alberta and B.C. pipeline deadlock.
“We always advocate for more efficient and better methods to get our product to port, whether it be over rail, whether it be through pipelines, and we’ll continue to do that”, Moe told BNN. He also promised legislation that would reaffirm Ottawa’s authority to press ahead with a development deemed to be in Canada’s national interest. This is a bid to try and take the wind out the sails of Horgan’s court challenge. Offering something similar to Kinder could lower the company’s borrowing costs, allowing the government to help without giving direct cash, said Fred Lazar, an economics professor who studies industrial policy at York University in Toronto.
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said the Trudeau government put interim guidelines in place to avoid pipeline dismissals by the previous Conservative government.
Kinder Morgan has set a deadline of May 31 to get a tangible sign from Canada that the project can and will be completed. “This is a series of discussions that are happening in Calgary, Toronto, Houston and NY. As soon as we have something to announce I promise you we will let you know”.
But, while more Canadians appear to be losing patience with the B.C. government’s delay tactics, British Columbians themselves remain anxious, troubled and alarmed by the risks associated with a tanker spill in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. “Maybe I would like the project to be bought out”, he said in reference to how Kinder is potentially looking at it.
“That is exactly what we are doing”, he said of the Trans Mountain salvage plan.
But Kinder Morgan had legal approval for the project from the proper authority. By that date, the company says it needs a clear vision of what the pipeline looks like moving forward.
If Trudeau is willing to pump an unspecific amount of taxpayers’ money in the project in such short order, his government (along with that of Alberta) must have concluded that the risks that the Houston-based company will otherwise walk away are real.
Make no mistake, the Kinder Morgan announcement reflects a watershed moment in Canadian history. Ummm, Kenney said, he’ll be reserving judgment until after his United Conservative Party Caucus mates can take a good long gander at the wording.
“I’m very certain, once we review the legislation … we’ll find again that they are violating legal rules with respect to restricting access”, he said. “Future capital investment in this country is at stake with such uncertainty”, said Scott Van Vliet, PSAC Chair and founder and CEO of Environmental Refuelling Systems Inc. She said it’s crucial now, more than ever, and she accused the Liberals of killing Northern Gateway pipeline and Energy East, leaving Canada nearly entirely dependent on the US.
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The meeting, convened at the last minute Thursday as Trudeau was departing for the Summit of the Americas in Peru, marked the first time the three leaders have all been in the same room together to hash out the dispute.
