TransMountain project has to happen, but ball is in Justin Trudeau’s court

If you have been paying attention to Canadian politics, and Alberta politics, in the last few months you will have noticed a theme occurring. It goes like this: the NDP government claims to have secured a social licence for pipeline approval (because of their implementation of a job killing carbon tax on the backs of everyday Albertans). We as an opposition deny this on account of the fact that pipeline construction keeps getting halted — and the cycle spins madly on.

At the end of the day, these approvals are nothing more than symbolic gestures from our prime minister. I say this because the approvals come carrying no weight whatsoever, as shovels have yet to be put into the ground and, just late last year, progress on Energy East ceased entirely due to uncertainty and lack of political leadership.

So, the question begs to be asked: Where are Justin Trudeau and his Natural Resource Minister, Jim Carr, on this file? So far, we have seen him skirt around conferences clad in fancy socks but, when it comes to settling the looming trade dispute between Alberta and B.C., he cannot “opine” on this issue. Is this the leadership that Canadians asked for? I have a hard time believing that.

As a United Conservative Opposition, we have respectfully asked the premier to hold an emergency debate on the issue of the Trans Mountain Expansion project and the ongoing battle with the British Columbia New Democrats. We were shut down, in no uncertain terms, and have yet to see anything besides more discussion leading to dangerous conversations that could have detrimental impacts on our interprovincial free trade relationships. As a free-enterprise conservative with extensive business experience, I can say with certainty that Alberta, especially without more than symbolic support of the federal government, is dead in the water on this issue. We need the federal government to come out swinging on this issue. Interprovincial free trade is one of the things, at this time left untouched, that gives Canada a competitive advantage. We need to ensure that free trade stays intact and engage forceful negotiation with the B.C. government.

One of the ways that we can engage Albertans on this issue is to hold a referendum on equalization. Albertans often feel that we are not getting our fair share as we have given $190 billion more to federal programs than we have received.

All in all, Albertans deserve a better and more effective government that advocates for their interests and demands more from Ottawa. It is time for Alberta to be a leader in Canada and time to build that pipeline.

Drew Barnes is the MLA (UCP) for the CypressMedicine Hat constituency.