Pipeline fight continues, federal decision does not reduce spill risk: Horgan

VICTORIA – BC Premier John Horgan says he will continue the fight in court against the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, regardless of who owns the project.

Horgan says the federal government’s decision to take over the pipeline from Kinder Morgan doesn’t change his government’s position and it will proceed with its reference case to the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The reference case asks the courts whether the province has the right to regulate heavy oil transportation across B.C.

Horgan says the case was never about who owns the pipeline, but whether B.C. has the right to protect its environment from the impact of a bitumen spill.

“It does change it from a federally approved project to a federally undertaken project. But the reference case did not speak to a specific project. It spoke to the transportation of diluted bitumen through British Columbia by rail or by pipe. So, our reference case remains.”

He says Ottawa’s decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline does not reduce the risk of a spill.

The province is asking the Appeal Court whether it has the right to regulate the transportation of hazardous substances inside its borders. Horgan says the fact the pipeline is about to be owned by a federal Crown corporation doesn’t affect the case.

He adds he is still worried about a potential spill in BC or in BC waters, adding he has already spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about moving forward with the reference case. “When I discussed that with the prime minister, he had no concerns.”

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley believes the reference case will have “less relevance,” now that the feds have announced their move to take over buy the project.

She says now that the feds are buying the pipeline, “they have a form of Crown immunity, which actually limits the degree to which provincial laws would apply to the project because it’s a federal project now.”

For her part, Notley says there’s no immediate need to turn off the oil taps to BC, now that there is more certainty around the project. She adds for now, she doesn’t plan to use her province’s legislation to regulate the flow of oil exports.

Although he said the deal is to ensure the pipeline is built, Finance Minister Bill Morneau says Ottawa doesn’t intend to be the pipeline’s long-term owner, with plans to sell the project once it’s done.

‘Complete failure’: Opposition weighs in

The head of the BC Liberals says all the court cases and delays put up by the provincial government were a waste of time.

“John Horgan and his friends have been saying that they would challenge this in the courts,” says Andrew Wilkinson. “Before the decision this morning, Kinder Morgan had won 16 out of 16 court decisions. Now that the federal government is the owner of the pipeline, effectively, they can just legislate it past any of these court issues.”

He argues the NDP government hasn’t thought this issue through. “They’ve acted in a reckless manner and the federal government has stepped in to correct their ways.”

He also believes Horgan has damaged BC’s relationship with Alberta and Ottawa. “This is a sad day for British Columbia.”

Federally, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says the government’s purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline sets a negative precedent for future energy development projects.

Scheer says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau created the uncertainty in the energy sector — leading to the need for the $4.5-billion buyout package.

He says Kinder Morgan was looking for certainty that delays could be overcome but Trudeau did nothing to assert federal jurisdiction or fast track court references around Constitutional questions — leaving Canadians to pay for his failure.

Scheer and Green Leader Elizabeth May also claims taxpayers are going to be on the hook for far more than the $4.5-billion the Liberals say they will spend to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says the purchase is a failure of leadership.

He says the decision to give Kinder Morgan $4.5-billion won’t solve the dispute over the pipeline expansion and shows Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has no vision for the future.

Singh — who has joined BC in opposing the project — says Canada needs a government that will create clean energy jobs in Alberta and across Canada while keeping promises to fight climate change.