PIPELINES CREATE JOBS

The shift in British Columbia politics has made expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline more acrimonious, but it’s encouraging to hear our prime minister and premier strongly making the case for the project proceeding.

The venture, which will increase the volume of bitumen shipped from Alberta to the West Coast, has received federal government approval, but that hasn’t prevented critics in B.C. from insisting they’ll bog down construction.

The failure of Christy Clark’s Liberals to win a majority in the recent provincial election has simply emboldened naive critics of such essential wealth-building initiatives. NDP Leader John Horgan and Green party Leader Andrew Weaver, who appear poised to form government together, have vowed to “immediately employ every tool available … to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.”

Thankfully, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unequivocal in his support of the expansion.

“The decision we took on the Trans Mountain pipeline was based on facts and evidence on what is in the best interests of Canadians,” Trudeau said Tuesday while travelling in Rome.

Trudeau’s plain-spoken confirmation of the $7.4-billion pipeline is commendable. Premier Rachel Notley was similarly pointed in her remarks, insisting it makes little difference which party forms government in B.C. because such infrastructure is a federal responsibility. “The decision has been taken,” she said. There is a lingering impression among some on the West Coast that the Trans Mountain pipeline represents all risk and no benefit for that province. That’s not the case, of course. The existing pipeline has been operating with a spotless safety record since the 1950s. Increasing the pipeline’s capacity is expected to create the equivalent of 15,000 jobs per year during construction, followed by the equivalent of a further 37,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs per year, according to the company.

Kinder Morgan cites a Conference Board of Canada report that found $46.7 billion in government revenue will be generated during construction and over the initial 20 years of expanded operations, helping to support services such as health care and education.

“(B.C.) can’t grow solely on the basis of escalating housing prices in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland,” Notley said. “They need stronger economic growth, and the reality is that in Interior B.C. they need the jobs that this pipeline will provide.”

Canadians clearly can’t count on West Coast politicians to see the benefits of expanded pipeline capacity. Canadians should, however, be able to rely on the prime minister to get the job done without an inordinate delay.