Critics want feds to do more to save pipeline but political scientist says options limited

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) –  – With talks between Kinder Morgan and the federal government underway to save the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, some are criticizing the Prime Minister for talking about using taxpayer money to keep the project alive.

But one academic says there isn’t much else Justin Trudeau can do to get the pipeline built.

Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, says the federal government doesn’t have many legal options. Pipeline approval is clearly under their jurisdiction and they’ve approved the project.

“They can take additional legislative action to try an assert more strongly their legislative responsibility over the issue but that doesn’t change the legal reality that the federal government is already responsible for approval,” he says.

Telford adds provincial governments also have a say in the environment, which can’t be ignored.

“The environment is not specified in the constitution as being federal or provincial,” he says “It’s not mentioned at all so by convention it’s accepted that both the federal and provincial governments have a role to play with environmental legilslation.”

Last week, the BC government submitted it’s question to the court of appeal asking for clarity on its jurisdiction over the flow of oil through the province.

Telford predicts a decision isn’t likely to come until later this year, at the earliest.