Senator wants decision on Trans Mountain expedited to top court

An independent senator is calling on the federal government to expedite a decision over the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Supreme Court of Canada, saying escalating tensions in B.C. and Alberta threaten to undo the $7.4-billion project before construction begins in earnest.

Calgary-based Sen. Doug Black believes that failure to expedite a decision on the Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. pipeline will allow opponents to continue to delay the project. “My view is let’s just cut to the chase and get it done,” he said Monday. “We need to prevent further unnecessary delay to moving the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain project forward.”

The senator’s comments come after he introduced Bill S -245 on Feb. 15. The bill aims to declare the project is to the general advantage of Canada, but has yet to reach its second reading in the Red Chamber. The bill was seconded by Senator Richard Neufeld., a B.C. Conservative.

By referring his bill to the Supreme Court for an expedited decision, the federal government could provide final approval to the project in a timely manner and overturn objections from the NDP- Green Party coalition government, environmental groups and some municipalities, which have put severe strain on building timelines for the pipeline, Black said.

Tensions over Trans Mountain have risen in recent weeks after the B.C. NDP proposed to halt any shipments of bitumen through the province until a panel could determine whether the heavy oil could be adequately cleaned from waterways in case of a spill.

The move kicked off a trade spat between the two provinces, with Alberta declaring a boycott on B.C. wine sales into the province. The standoff has since eased after Horgan said the province will refer the issue to the courts.

In an interview with CBC that aired Sunday, Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver repeated claims that his party would use “every tool in the toolbox” to delay the pipeline. “Rather than argue about it in the media, it’s going to the courts,” he said.

The B.C. government announced last week it would seek a reference from the courts on the case — a move that a spokesperson with Natural Resources Canada said “only serves to illustrate that it knows it does not have constitutional authority over interprovincial pipelines. We declined to join B.C.’s legal strategy because it is groundless.”