Trans Mountain proponents headed for showdown with B.C.
Project will test the country’s unity,
Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. ignored political turmoil in British Columbia on Tuesday and joined the Alberta and federal governments in preparing for a showdown on the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline that will test Canadian unity.
The company proposing the $7.4-billion expansion project said the completion of its IPO means its investment decision is now final and construction will start in September.
“This is an exciting day for our customers, for communities and for the many individuals who are relying on this project to deliver jobs and economic benefits,” president Ian Anderson said in a statement.
“This securing of financing for the project demonstrates the need for and interest in the opportunity for Canada to have better access to world markets.”
While the shares slumped on their first day of trading in Toronto as B.C. moved closer to having an anti-pipeline NDP/ Green government, it was no small victory lap for Anderson, who’s been spearheading the project for a decade and been the target of a smear campaign in which he’s been called a “liar” by B.C. environmental group Dogwood and a “cowboy” by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
Alberta’s defiant NDP premier, Rachel Notley, minced no words in defending Trans Mountain, which would carry 890,000 barrels of Alberta oil a day from Edmonton to the West Coast for export to Asian markets, up from 300,000 today.
“The decision has been taken,” Notley said Tuesday in response to a deal between the B.C. NDP and the Greens to overthrow the longtime Liberal government.
“It was taken by a federal government that was committed to balancing and driving towards two goals at the same time: environmental sustainability and economic growth on behalf of the whole country,” Notley said.
The May 9 election left the Liberals with 43 seats, one short of a majority, while the NDP ended with 41 and the Greens with three.
The NDP/Greens agreement includes doing everything in the government’s power to oppose the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, such as withholding permits and engaging in court action. Meanwhile, B.C. Premier Christy Clark said Tuesday she would recall the legislature as soon as next week.
But if the NDP and Green deal holds, she acknowledged her government will fall.
In an earlier statement, Notley said Alberta would “use the means at our disposal to ensure that the project is built, that it meets the highest possible environmental standards, and that it contributes to economic growth and jobs in Alberta, British Columbia and Canada.”
The gloves are coming off for the first time since pipelines to export Canadian oil to Asia were first proposed nearly a decade ago.
Delays, sweet talk, cash and accommodation by all involved failed to satisfy environmental groups intent on shutting down Canada’s energy economy at any cost.
Offerings included Alberta’s aggressive climate-change plan to address greenhouse gas emissions concerns about the oilsands, Ottawa’s federal climate-change commitments, the federal spiking of the Northern Gateway pipeline, the federal ban on oil tankers in the Northern part of the B.C. coastline, federal spending to improve spill response, Kinder Morgan’s billion in benefits to ensure B.C. got its fair share, widespread benefits for impacted aboriginals.
It was all predictable years ago, based on the green industry’s well-known M.O. of moving the goalposts whenever it gets what it wants.
Yet no politician has confronted the lobby, whether Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau or even Clark, who gave it oxygen by opposing oil pipelines from Alberta until her five conditions were met — and still ended up losing her majority.
Trudeau will be in charge of clearing up a costly mess and it won’t be pleasant because it could escalate.
Already, there is lots of talk in Alberta about retaliation involving obstructing passage of trains from the Port of Vancouver to the rest of Canada through Alberta, or of B.C. gas moving through Alberta to U.S. markets.
As Trudeau conceded during his trip to Italy Monday, “regardless of a change in government in British Columbia or anywhere, the facts and evidence do not change.”
Notley, who stands to lose the most if she doesn’t deliver the pipeline after slapping heavy carbon taxes on economically depressed Alberta, may have to do the heavy lifting.
In case there is any doubt in B.C. about what they are up against, the Alberta premier is no pushover in showdowns, as oilsands leaders who caved to her agenda found out.