Alberta looks to continue pipeline fight

EDMONTON — Alberta politicians have passed a motion to back Premier Rachel Notley’s battle for the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, but division remains on how to carry the fight.

The United Conservatives, Alberta Party, and the Alberta Liberals joined with Notley’s NDP to back the government motion in a vote Tuesday.

The final tally was 70-0, with Notley and United Conservative Opposition Leader Jason Kenney in the chamber for the vote.

All sides agree on the need for the pipeline, but have disagreed over how Notley’s government has carried the fight to B.C. and to the federal government.

The NDP voted down a United Conservative amendment de- signed to make that distinction clear.

UCP house leader Jason Nixon said they voted for the motion anyway, saying it’s important to stop B.C.’s delay tactics on the project, which would triple the amount of oil flowing from Edmonton to Burnaby.

“It was important for us to show we were united in the legislature as Albertans,” Nixon said.

“With that said, that does not let the NDP off. They have not gone far enough.”

Horgan said B.C. will stick to its legal plan to test its jurisdiction on environmental and economic grounds.

“Ms. Notley can take care of business in Alberta to the extent that she believes she has to take on British Columbians,” Horgan said Tuesday.

“That’s her right. I would prefer to see people coming together.”