PM commits Green Line cash, vows pipeline will be built
Prime minister says Trans Mountain project will move ahead but won’t say how
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t tipping his hand on pipeline tactics but insists his critics are wrong about his commitment to seeing the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain line move forward.
Trudeau was in Calgary for an infrastructure announcement Tuesday as Kinder Morgan’s deadline for the pipeline project looms.
With British Columbia’s NDP government, environmental activists and some First Nations attempting to derail the line to the Pacific coast, Kinder Morgan wants the uncertainty around the $7.4-billion project addressed by May 31 or it is prepared to walk away.
An animated Trudeau — who has faced harsh criticism from federal and Alberta conservatives over his handling of the Kinder Morgan file — told reporters there is no “magic phrase” he could use to mollify his critics.
“I don’t think there is anything I can say that would reassure some of my critics that have such little faith in my government getting anything done for Alberta,” said Trudeau.
But he insisted the Liberal government is taking the right approach compared with what he described as empty boosterism by the previous Conservative government.
“I can tell you my government is doing, and will continue to do, everything necessary to defend federal jurisdiction and ... get this pipeline built,” said Trudeau.
“We continue to work hard every day, visibly but also behind the scenes, to ensure that it’s going to get built and I’m very, very confident this pipeline is going to get built.”
Trudeau would not comment Tuesday on the possibility of Kinder Morgan extending its deadline but said “there are all sorts of conversations going on.”
One proposal to help give certainty to Kinder Morgan is public investment by Ottawa and Alberta.
Possibilities that have been floated range from insurance guarantees to reimburse Kinder Morgan for losses caused by delays, to equity investments, to Alberta’s outright purchase of the pipeline.
The Liberals have also discussed taking legal action or introducing legislation on the pipeline issue, though none has been forthcoming.
Pat Kelly, the Conservative MP for Calgary Rocky Ridge, said Trudeau’s comments were “a copout.”
“That we’re talking about the possibility of a federal government bailout ... the fact we’re at this point is a failure of government leadership,” he said.
“He should be doing everything possible to assert the federal authority.”
Trudeau said the Liberals have helped clear a path for Trans Mountain to move forward by taking environmental action that includes investing substantially in marine safety on the West Coast and addressing climate change issues with its mandate to the provinces to price carbon.
The expansion of Kinder Morgan’s line to Vancouver is seen by Alberta’s NDP government and the energy industry as key to opening new Asian markets to Alberta crude, meaning better prices and less reliance on an American market swimming in shale oil.
One major oilpatch figure is feeling optimistic about the pipeline’s prospects.
“I’ve never seen a clearer statement from both the provincial and federal governments,” Suncor CEO Steve Williams said Tuesday.
I can tell you my government is doing, and will continue to do, everything necessary to defend federal jurisdiction and ... get this pipeline built.