ROWDY RECEPTION ON ISLAND
Trudeau defends Kinder Morgan
Prime Minister Justin NANAIMO Trudeau spoke over jeers Friday at a rowdy town hall meeting in Nanaimo as he defended his government’s decision to support the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline through B.C.
Trudeau said the pipeline is a key component of the federal government’s approach to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which means Ottawa had to get a national agreement on carbon pricing that will allow Canada to meet its international commitments on climate change.
“But in order to do that, part of moving forward is approving the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which will be able to get our resources responsibly and safely to new markets across the Pacific,” he said, adding the government’s ocean protection plan will better protect the coastline from oil spills at the same time.
“It is in the national interest to move forward with the Kinder Morgan pipeline, and we will be moving forward with the Kinder Morgan pipeline.”
The town hall was often raucous. The prime minister faced a mix of cheers and boos on his arrival.
When he spoke about the pipeline, he was repeatedly interrupted, causing him to show his frustration at one point by exclaiming: “Come on! Come on! Really?”
“If you can’t respect the people in this room, you need to leave,” he said before asking the police to remove those who were disrupting the event.
Police physically removed a man and a woman as someone else shouted: “Shame on you Trudeau.”
Trudeau spoke to an overflow crowd in the gymnasium at Vancouver Island University, while dozens of protesters carried anti-pipeline placards outside.
The final town hall of his crosscountry tour started almost an hour late because of travel delays caused by weather, officials said.
So many people wanted to attend the event that organizers were shifting seating in the gym at the last minute to make room.
B.C. announced proposals earlier this week that would ban increased shipments of diluted bitumen off its coast until it can determine that shippers are prepared and able to properly clean up a spill.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has called that an unconstitutional attempt to get around federal approval of the Kinder Morgan project, which would triple the capacity of the pipeline and increase the number of tankers in Georgia Strait from five to 34 per month.
Notley promised to suspend electricity talks with the province in its first step to fight against the B.C. government’s proposal.
Up to $500 million annually for B.C.’s coffers hangs in the balance, Notley said.
B.C. Premier John Horgan said his government consulted Alberta and Ottawa about his province’s intentions, which includes appointing a scientific advisory panel to study the issue.
Horgan said Friday that his government is trying to protect the province, not be provocative, when it comes to a proposed ban on increasing the amount of diluted bitumen that can be shipped from the West Coast. He said his government’s announcement that it would consult on new regulations should not set off a “trade war between good friends.”
Horgan said his government has been clear about its belief that the Trans Mountain pipeline is not in the best interest of the province and continues to fight the project in Federal Court.
He said the province has obtained legal advice about the new proposals and the government is well within its rights to consult with citizens.
Stephen Harper imposed an outer perimeter of control, one suspects, because he worried about his lack of inner control — the fear that he might lose it in public.
Justin Trudeau apparently has no such concerns. He held a town-hall in Nanaimo, B.C., in front of an audience that was vocal and hostile to his government’s decision to back the construction of the $7.4 billion Kinder Morgan pipeline.
As he entered the room, one man shouted: “You’re a snake, you’re a liar.”
He was drowned out repeatedly until he came close to losing his cool and confronted his accuser. “Come on, come on. Really? Are you going to respect the people in this room? If not, you need to leave,” he said.
The police were called in to eject the prime minister’s noisiest critics, but the heckling continued throughout, as if a number had been drinking on an empty head.
Trudeau’s willingness to tolerate the abuse was indicative of his tendency to take political risks — as he did when he fought Sen. Patrick Brazeau; as he did when he decided the Liberals would campaign on running deficits in 2015.
He was in deeply hostile terrain.
Even a question from an elderly woman who initially addressed him as “my handsome, precious one” ended up with him on the receiving end of criticism for supporting a pipeline that “could destroy our coastline.”
Trudeau should be commended for saying much the same in the face of a belligerent audience as he said in Alberta the day before. “We will be moving forward with the Kinder Morgan pipeline,” he said, explaining it was part of the government’s plan to balance the environment and the economy. “That is the nature of the compromise we have taken in the best interests of the country.”
It would be fair to say the reception was about as warm as if he’d asked the audience in Edmonton for a round of applause for his father.
It was a bold performance but that makes it all the more curious why the prime minister has not backed up the rhetoric with a promise to act. The B.C. government has said it will restrict the transportation of bitumen until there are further studies on the impact of spills.
Rachel Notley, the Alberta Premier, has pointed out that this is unconstitutional and has threatened to retaliate by suspending discussions on the purchase of electricity from B.C. Jason Kenney, the provincial Opposition leader, has mused about a blockade to stop oil flowing to B.C.
Alberta’s case was bolstered this week by a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute that suggested oil and gas producers are struggling to stay competitive with U.S. companies because of lack of pipeline capacity.
Yet, Trudeau’s line that he doesn’t want to “opine on disagreements between provinces” is nonsense.
By making the case he did in Nanaimo, he is clearly siding with Notley and her contention that the federal government has approved Kinder Morgan and the B.C. government has no jurisdiction.
If the NDP/Green government in Victoria does not back down, Trudeau must use his constitutional power to declare the Trans Mountain pipeline a work for the general advantage of Canada under the Constitution Act, a move that would remove the authority of provincial and municipal governments.
It would be a bold political move for the prime minister — the Liberals would lose seats in British Columbia as a result. But, in truth, he has already picked which side he is on.
On Friday, in Nanaimo, he looked his critics in the eyes and explained why the pipeline was approved by Ottawa — and what measures the government has taken to mitigate spills.
It was display of control and political skill.
But real leadership requires him to take the next step and head off a brewing national unity crisis by making it clear that new delaying tactics will not be tolerated.
REAL LEADERSHIP REQUIRES HIM TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP.