Trudeau ensures Kinder Morgan pipeline is built
OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday moved to end an escalating crisis over a Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd oil pipeline, saying Ottawa was prepared to offer financial aid to ensure the project went ahead.
Trudeau cited investor confidence as one reason to help Kinder Morgan Canada, part of Kinder Morgan Inc, which plans to almost triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain line from Alberta to the Pacific province of British Columbia.
The company, unhappy about moves by the British Columbia government to impede the Cad$7.4 billion ($5.9 billion) project on environmental grounds, is threatening to walk away unless it receives sufficient clarity about the path ahead by May 31.
“I have instructed the minister of finance to initiate formal financial discussions with Kinder Morgan, the result of which will be to remove the uncertainty overhanging the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project,” Trudeau told reporters, calling the line “a vital strategic interest to Canada.”
Trudeau, speaking after an emergency summit with the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia, said, “we are actively pursuing legislative options that will assert and reinforce the government of Canada’s jurisdiction in this matter.”
He declined to give details on exactly what the ruling Liberals had in mind to end an impasse that is prompting investor unease and could threaten his political future.
Both the federal and Alberta governments have already suggested they could take a stake in the project.
Speaking before the meeting, a federal government source said past examples of help included a bailout of the auto industry in 2009, federal loan guarantees for a hydro-electric project and Ottawa’s investment in an offshore energy project.
“Construction will go ahead,” said Trudeau, who is under increasing pressure from the business community and opposition politicians to take action amid fears the dispute could hit already flagging foreign investment.