Trudeau rolls dice on resources

The hefty, 304-page Bill C-69 that fell with a thud on Parliament Hill this month could be the single most important piece of legislation Justin Trudeau’s Liberals ever pass.

On it rests the fate of Canada’s environment, the country’s lucrative energy sector and the nation’s hopes for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

The ambitions underpinning this legislation are huge. The stakes for the country couldn’t be higher.

Indeed, Trudeau is attempting what might be impossible.

He’s trying to find a way to approve major natural resources projects, such as pipelines, mines and hydro dams, with a new and faster process that’s agreeable to everyone — First Nations, environmentalists and business people alike.

Yet even if his government succeeds in passing a wise, comprehensive and — to use a favourite Liberal word — inclusive piece of legislation, there’s no guarantee it will do what Trudeau desires.

The current nationwide dispute over Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion shows why.

Trudeau’s Liberals approved the 1,147-kilometre pipeline, which would carry crude oil from northern Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The National Energy Board OK’d the project, as long as Kinder Morgan satisfies 157 conditions.

Despite that, Trans Mountain’s future is uncertain. The B.C. government is trying to stop it. In response, the Alberta government is threatening a trade war with B.C., which could spark a national unity crisis.

Environmental groups vow a court battle to block the pipeline. Indigenous leaders warn they’ll do the same, as well as stage massive protests.

And this is just one, problematic natural resource project upon which Canada’s prosperity depends, yet to which so many other interests object.

The high hopes for the new legislation are that it will deliver such a superior process for reviewing future projects that everyone will trust the government’s final decision.

In fact, Bill C-69 might go a long way toward fostering such trust.

It would scrap the unpopular National Energy Board and create the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to assess and consult on major projects.

Not only will the new body consider environmental issues — presumably better than the National Energy Board — it will examine a project’s health, social and economic impacts as well as its effect on Indigenous Peoples. They should have more input than ever.

In addition, Bill C-69 would create the Canadian Energy Regulator to regulate pipelines.

In all this, Trudeau is acting in Canada’s best interest.

He’s also trying to keep promises to introduce climate-change fighting carbon taxes while getting natural resources to market.

Rather than being contradictory, these promises complement each other. Albertans, for instance, won’t stomach carbon taxes unless pipelines are built.

But will Trudeau’s quest for that balance succeed where the current process failed?

We suspect no pipeline can be built with a 100-percent public buy-in.

Perhaps that’s why, even with new legislation, the federal cabinet retains the right to approve projects it deems in the national interest — regardless of what anyone says.

That’s only fair. Canadians elected them to do what’s best for Canada.

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