Notley backs out of Premiers’ meeting

CALGARY •Albertapremier Rachel Notley will not be in attendance at this week’s Western Premiers’ Conference in the Northwest Territories.

Notley tweeted Monday she will be staying home to work on a deal for the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline,withjust10daysto go before Kinder Morgan’s self-imposed deadline.

Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman will represent Alberta at the annual meeting instead, the premier said.

“With 10 days remaining before Kinder Morgan’s deadline, my only priority is to make sure the pipeline gets built,” Notley tweeted. “It would be surreal and exceptionally tone deaf for anyone to think we could politely discuss pharmacare and cannabis when one of the players is hard at work trying to choke the economic lifeblood of the province and the country.”

The pipeline company has vowed to pull out by May 31 unless the B.C. government gives clear signs the Trans Mountain project won’t be further obstructed.

Plans to triple capacity along Kinder Morgan’s existing Trans Mountain pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby have pitted Alberta and the federal government against B.C.’S government, which has expressed concern about the impact a potential spill would have on the province’s environment and economy.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau said last week that the federal government is committed to getting the pipeline built even if Kinder Morgan pulls out.

Kinder Morgan stopped all non-essential spending on its $7.4-billion project after delays from the B.C. government, environmental groups and protesters.

B.C. Premier John Horgan had said he wasn’t expecting any drama between him and Notley at the premiers meeting over the pipeline dispute.

“I believe, largely, the issue is around transporting diluted bitumen, whether it is by rail or by pipeline,” Horgan said Friday. “I believe the risk of a diluted bitumen spill to our environment, to our economy, is too great. I’ve made that abundantly clear. I don’t think there’ll be any surprises next week.”

Morneau said he believes there are “other private-sector actors that would be willing to move forward” with the project if Kinder Morgan pulls out.

But tensions have only escalated ever since, with Horgan accusing Morneau of “rhetoric and hyperbole” and Notley warning Horgan she’s “ready and prepared to turn off the taps” and restrict oil shipments to B.C.

The provincial government passed a law last week that would allow politicians in Edmonton to control the flow of oil, natural gas and refined products out of the province in response to B.C.’S opposition to the Trans Mountain expansion project.

The B.C. government said it would seek legal remedies should Alberta cut off oil shipments to its western neighbour and source its oil needs from Washington state.