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Trans Mountain pipeline rift widens Unusual public dissension from two members of Justin Trudeau’s administration over upcoming Trans Mountain expansion decision GARY PARK For Petroleum News
The first open rift in the year-old administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau involves an upcoming decision on Kinder Morgan’s C$6.8 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and has few parallels in the recent history of Canada.
Two government members of Parliament have spurned the usual protocol of resolving differences behind closed doors in caucus by going public with their concerns as expectations build that the Trudeau cabinet will approve a tripling of the pipeline’s export capacity to 890,000 barrels per day of oil sands bitumen.
The belief that Trudeau is about to burn a large chunk of his political capital, especially in British Columbia, has been reinforced by Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr who noted that the prime minister has spoken repeatedly about his desire to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States market for Alberta’s oil riches.
Carr argued that what Trudeau has said “about moving our resources sustainably ... is a sensible approach to take.”
He said there is a “level of urgency” to approve new export connections beyond North America “due to sluggish economic growth.”
Vancouver members speak out Faced with a make-or-break federal cabinet decision no later than Dec. 19, the members of Parliament from the Greater Vancouver region have opted to take their own make-or-break route which could jeopardize their place in the governing Liberal Party.
Ron McKinnon said in a letter to Carr that the Trans Mountain plan is “detrimental to British Columbia and the project should not proceed,” urging Carr to “listen to the collective wisdom of British Columbians.”
Terry Beach told a public hearing that the area he represents “does not currently grant permission for this project to proceed.”
Both MPs referred to the Liberals 2015 election platform that “government might grant permits (for major resource projects), but only communities grant permission.”
“It is undeniable that our government lacks social license to proceed with this project,” said McKinnon.
He also argued Kinder Morgan should not be allowed to start construction “without better research on (the pipeline’s) effect on at-risk species such as killer whales.”
Former British Columbia Premier Mike Harcourt appealed earlier in November for the Canadian government to recommend a different location for the tanker terminal to handle about 34 loadings a month at the existing Burnaby facility that currently fills an average five tankers a month in the Port of Vancouver.
Nov. 19 protest Those concerns were reflected on Nov. 19 when more than 4,000 protesters - including First Nations leaders, politicians from the municipal, provincial and federal levels, environmentalists and citizens - demonstrated in downtown Vancouver against the expansion.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said what many others have warned about - that the activist movement behind the large and prolonged demonstrations in North Dakota against the Dakota Access pipeline is now turning its focus to Canada.
“I think you will see protests (against Trans Mountain) unlike anything you have ever seen before,” Robertson said. “I think it is politically perilous.”
Canada’s Green Party leader Elizabeth May said that if the Trudeau government approves the pipeline “they will see such hell-raising from British Columbia that they will feel it shake the foundations of Parliament.”
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