B.C. Liberal MPs brace for backlash

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau’s promise to let backbenchers be the voice of their constituents in Ottawa is being tested as B.C. Liberal MPs grapple with the political fallout from the decision to approve Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

A number of the Liberals’ 17 MPs from the province frankly acknowledged Wednesday that they’re disappointed with the decision, which they said is deeply unpopular with many of their constituents.

And at least one backbencher, Vancouver’s Hedy Fry, predicted the move will cost her votes in the next election.

At the same time, the B.C. backbenchers made a distinction between their own roles in defending the interests of their constituents and the prime minister’s duty to make decisions in the national interest.

“I have been advancing the perspective of Vancouver Quadra constituents since many years ago on these issues and, at a certain point, a government needs to make a decision on what they believe is in the national interest, and this is the decision that’s made,” said Joyce Murray, a former B.C. environment minister.

Immediate reaction to the decision has been so fierce in Murray’s riding that she’s advised staff in her Vancouver office, who are “bearing the brunt of people’s anger and sense of betrayal and concern,” that they need to “protect their own well-being.”

Protests to block the pipeline are also “a real possibility,” she acknowledged.

Still, she said opposition may be ameliorated somewhat by the fact that Trudeau has listened to the concerns and respects the right of pipeline opponents to express their views.

Indeed, even as he announced the pipeline decisions Tuesday, Trudeau gave something of a shout-out to one of his B.C. backbenchers, Burnaby NorthSeymour MP Terry Beech, who had publicly urged the government to say No to Kinder Morgan.

Beech had little to say Wednesday, beyond describing plans to hold an open house this weekend for his constituents.

Other B.C. Liberal MPs seemed resigned Wednesday to having lost the argument over the pipeline. They said their focus now must be on ensuring that the environmental conditions attached to the project are kept.

Jonathan Wilkinson said he felt the government had responded thoroughly to the concerns of people in his North Vancouver riding.