PIPELINE POLITICS
Trans Mountain a key issue
If you believe the latest polls, the left-leaning NDP could end 16 years of Liberal rule in British Columbia next week, resulting in yet more obstacles for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and pushing the Alberta NDP — whose future could hang on the success of the project — into a tough spot.
B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan has promised to “use every tool in the tool box” to stop the project, which is scheduled to start construction in September. The threat has left many scratching their heads since the federally regulated $7.4-billion expansion of the Alberta-to-Burnaby, B.C. oil line has received the required approvals from the National Energy Board and from Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal government.
It even got the blessing of Liberal Leader Christy Clark, who is running a tight race for premier amid voters craving for change, after it met her five conditions. Those included a revenue sharing deal worth up to $1 billion over 20 years, an unprecedented concession by proponent Kinder Morgan Inc.
Asked how Horgan plans to block the project, Jen Holmwood, BC NDP media relations director, said in a statement: “The federal government would be hard-pressed to force this pipeline through with a B.C. government that is firmly against it. There are still unresolved legal questions and we will explore all legal options at our disposal to stop the project moving forward.”
Horgan was just as baffling when asked to explain his “tools” on the campaign trail this week: “The Squamish Nation and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in southwest B.C. have filed legal challenges against the federal government, and there’s a whole host of other legal remedies available to us and we’ll be laying that out.”
Others beg to differ, which could make for interesting fireworks in the months ahead between Horgan — if he wins the election — and just about everyone else. According to a May 3 Mainstreet/Postmedia poll, the B.C. NDP are leading with the support of 34 per cent of all voters, the B.C. Liberals have 31 per cent, the Greens have 17 per cent, and 18 per cent were undecided.
“As an industry, we wish to reinforce the importance of respecting due process and maintaining the integrity of the regulatory process in place for transmission pipelines,” Chris Bloomer, president and CEO of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, said in a statement.
“A change in government at any level should not change the outcome of processes and decisions that have already been determined. In the case of Trans Mountain, the federal government has given its approval stating that the Trans Mountain expansion project has met the strictest environmental standards, fits within Canada’s national climate plan, and is in the interest of all Canadians.”
Michael Prince, Lansdowne professor of social policy at the University of Victoria, said Horgan seems to be getting away with vague promises on Trans Mountain, but “in the cold light of day, if he becomes premier, he’s going to be faced with some hard realities about how limited he is. I don’t know what he’s got in his tool kit.”
Prince said Horgan’s pipeline stance could have more to do with fending off a threat to the NDP from the Green Party, which opposes the pipeline and all other energy projects, from LNG to the Site C hydro project, and is enjoying a surge in support under the leadership of climate scientist Andrew Weaver.
Horgan may also be trying to declare a clear position on the pipeline, which some say cost his predecessor, Adrian Dix, the 2013 election. Dix flip-flopped and came out against it in the final days of his campaign, angering some voters.
This time around, voters are prioritizing other issues, such as skyrocketing housing costs, health care and jobs, according to polls.
The B.C. election’s strangest twist is that it’s pitting greens against greens. Weaver, for example, has taken shots at the B.C. NDP for being latecomers to the climate change debate, while "I’ve been involved at the very highest levels internationally of climate policy for my entire career.”
The B.C. NDP and the Alberta NDP don’t see eye to eye, either. While Horgan wants to kill the Trans Mountain expansion, the Alberta NDP needs it badly to demonstrate its climate change plan, including a carbon tax that is weighing heavily on the province’s depressed economy, is worth the pain because it will lead to pipeline approvals. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is so mad she’s barred her staff from participating in the B.C. election.
Then there is Horgan versus Trudeau, who’s also cast himself as a green champion. He approved the pipeline to demonstrate it’s possible to balance the economy and the environment. But Trudeau will be hard pressed to explain why Canada’s climate change embrace isn’t delivering economic benefits because energy infrastructure projects keep getting shot down by politicians. Indeed, Trudeau may wish he didn’t set a precedent when he rejected the Northern Gateway project after it received all its federal approvals.