PM MUST ACT IN OIL DISPUTE
Something had to be done.
In banning the importation of British Columbia wine, Premier Rachel Notley has underscored Alberta’s growing frustration with its western neighbour. B.C. Premier John Horgan has challenged the Constitution with this threat to delay construction of the federally approved Trans Mountain pipeline project by bogging it down in more study.
The Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion has been extensively vetted by the National Energy Board and has received the endorsement of the Liberal federal government and the previous B.C. administration of Liberal Christy Clark.
As Notley has made clear, Horgan’s insistence on further review of bitumen exports is not just an affront to Alberta, but to Canada as a whole. Canadians have a strong respect for the rule of law, and Horgan and his supporters in the Green Party are attempting to undermine one of the most successful democracies on the planet.
“We will not let the government of B.C. hold Alberta’s and Canada’s economy hostage, and jeopardize the economic security of hundreds of thousands of working families across this province and across this country,” Notley said.
Horgan has exhibited a flair for the worst kind of politics with his obstruction. He’s apparently quite comfortable with B.C. facilitating the export of dirty coal from the United States to be used to generate electricity in Asia. He seems quite content to receive Alberta oil that keeps the bulk of British Columbia vehicles moving.
But he flinches at the prospect Canada could end its dependence on the United States and send its oil to markets that would pay a higher price — creating needed jobs and billions of dollars in revenue for governments at all levels.
Notley, who had previously stopped talks to buy $500 million a year of electricity from B.C., has made a controversial decision in putting a cork in B.C. wine. Her action is subject to legal challenge and may provoke retaliation, but provincial governments have the authority to decide what is stocked on liquor store shelves.
It’s to be hoped Notley’s measure sends a sobering message to not only Horgan, but to ordinary British Columbians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau professes support for the pipeline, but has done nothing to counter B.C. intransigence. The federal government should use its constitutional powers to declare the pipeline in the national interest. A demonstration of leadership by Trudeau is long overdue.