PM flexes pipeline muscle as defiant B.C. gains ally
Part prime minister, part faith healer, Justin Trudeau tried to pull the country back together Sunday under the flag of Kinder Morgan.
It came amid signs that any national consensus is further fracturing.
The Quebec government — Liberals, no less — are now siding with B.C.’s adamant opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline to the west coast.
Ottawa’s assertion of dominance on Kinder Morgan “is not a good sign for federalism,” said Premier Philippe Couillard.
“The recent assertions of federal representatives regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline, which refer to an exclusive application of federal rules, are detrimental to a proper resolution of this issue and raise concerns for the future,” wrote Jean-Marc Fournier, the Quebec minister responsible for Canadian relations.
Sometimes you have to wonder if Alberta actually has any Canadian relations.
Many Albertans will find Quebec’s attitude infuriating. Quebec opposition was a major factor in the death of the Energy East pipeline.
The resistance began under the leadership of a former federal Liberal minister, Denis Coderre, when he was mayor of Montreal and nobody even knew details of the project.
Now the Quebec government wants to block Alberta’s last chance at tidewater access — at a port 3,600 kilometres from Montreal.
This from a province that accepts regular tanker shipments on the St. Lawrence River from a host of overseas countries, many with no environmental rules at all.
Quebec not only meddles in Kinder Morgan, but insists the provinces should be full partners in the administration of Bill C-69, the federal legislation that has already plunged the energy industry into new spasms of confusion.
Trudeau could face no more serious challenge than a Liberal uprising in Quebec. The solution — for now but maybe not forever — is to get Kinder Morgan quickly built and forgotten.
On Sunday, Trudeau told Premier Rachel Notley and her nemesis, B.C.’s John Horgan, that Ottawa will negotiate an equity stake of some kind with Kinder Morgan.
And he added something newer — the feds will bring in legislation to “reassert and reinforce” federal jurisdiction over the Trans Mountain pipeline.
But why do the feds need legislation when they keep insisting their jurisdiction over the pipeline is absolute and unchallenged?
One possibility is that it will be more political than legal, a noble declaration of Ottawa’s nation-binding role while respecting valid provincial concerns.
Albertans will hope for a little more punch than that — something to match the provincial law to squeeze oil shipments to B.C., which comes to the legislature Monday.
Ottawa could, for instance, mention its power to expropriate land.
This was used to great effect in 1999 following a long federal-provincial dispute over a torpedo test range at Nanoose Bay, B.C. After endless provincial harassment through bylaws and court challenges, Ottawa took over the land through a ministerial order.
Would Ottawa actually do that now? The prospect is appealing, but apparently, it’s not under discussion.
The financial deal with Kinder Morgan, if it actually happens, will also be extremely important to Alberta.
Trudeau makes it sound like Ottawa alone is involved. But Alberta will also have negotiators at all the financial talks with the company in Houston, Calgary and New York.
Notley clearly expects Alberta to have a stake in any deal led by Ottawa. That could make a lot more sense than her dramatic offer to buy the whole thing.
The feds would get to look like the saviours of the nation. And yet, acutely aware that industry players would suspect a federal takeover of shipping rights and revenues, they might be happy to see Alberta hold a significant share.
Using borrowed money would be the wrong move for Notley. The financing should come from the Heritage Fund. It could prove to be a brilliant investment once the bitumen starts flowing and shipping.
Sunday showed that solutions are in the works. But they have to become reality very quickly, before more provinces wake up to the anti- Ottawa fun.