There are as many drops of bitumen to be squeezed out of the oilsands as there are opinions on the federal government’s decision to spend $4.5 billion to purchase the Trans-Mountain pipeline expansion.
Provincially, the Alberta NDP were united in applauding the purchase, while B.C. Premier John Horgan said the government’s intervention does not eliminate a potential environmental calamity.
The federal Progressive Conservatives claimed that all Kinder Morgan wanted was uncertainty, that four pipelines were built under the previous PC government and that low taxes (ie. no carbon tax) would pushed this project through.
Even industry seems divided, arguing that while the pipeline is necessary, purchasing the project perhaps sends the wrong message to investors.
Our own thoughts on the deal probably align with that of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken, who was interviewed by the Town & Country about the purchase (see Page 1 of this week’s edition).
van Dijken wasn’t opposed to the project, though he did express concern about the $2 billion that Alberta has promised to the federal government. The United Conservative Party had attempted to convene an emergency debate on that money, but were shut down.
More importantly, however, van Dijken is right to point out that purchasing the pipeline expansion doesn’t erase the opposition to the project; as noted, the B.C. government is still determined not to see it go ahead, as are many eco-activists and First Nations.
Granted, 2017 saw many major oil pipeline projects greenlit by the Trump administration, but those all faced fierce opposition from environmentalists and First Nations.
Those protests sometimes grew violent and there were even incidents of sabotage.
The federal government has to make good on the money it’s invested in this venture, which includes the $4.5 billion purchase price and the $7-or-so billion it will cost to build it.
What will happen when the protesters and their backers in the B.C. government continue to obstruct the expansion? How far is the Canadian government willing to go to ensure construction?
