Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she is following through with her threat to restrict petroleum shipments to B.C. as the dispute over oil pipeline expansion heats up.
âWe are introducing legislation to allow us to restrict product to B.C.,â Notley announced on Twitter Monday afternoon.
Notley reiterated that the Alberta government is willing to invest public money in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project if necessary, and urged the federal government to âfollow our leadâ to press B.C. to drop its opposition.
Premier John Horgan took every question in the B.C. legislature Monday, rejecting accusations that his continued opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is unconstitutional and damaging to the national economy.
âI donât give a damn what The Globe and Mail says,â Horgan replied after the newspaperâs lead editorial was quoted to him by B.C. Liberal critics in question period.
Horgan continued the argument of B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman, who told reporters earlier that a court challenge of the project is appropriate and any action by Alberta to penalize B.C. would be âunlawful.â The court reference was made after Alberta cut off shipments of B.C. wine to retaliate against Heymanâs proposal for new regulations to restrict diluted bitumen transport across the province.
"I'm not in a trade war with anyone," says in QP, is "one project in a sea of investment"
â Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Reaction has been fast and furious since Kinder Morgan announced on Sunday it has suspended non-essential spending on the project, twinning its 65-year-old crude oil and fuel pipeline from Alberta to southwestern B.C.
B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson said the federal governmentâs criticism of Horganâs government on a pipeline that has federal and provincial approval is the kind usually reserved for Quebec separatists.
The Business Council of B.C. is calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with B.C. Premier John Horgan to resolve the standoff over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
âThis is no longer about a pipeline project or whether one supports or opposes the legal movement of energy in Canada, which all Canadians and our economy rely on,â said Greg DâAvignon, president of the business council.
âProvoked by the B.C. governmentâs continued position, this is a referendum on whether British Columbia is open to investment and whether a legal enterprise can, with any confidence, build and operate a business within the province and the country.â
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Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Monday she has told Horgan that her government will move quickly to pass legislation with âserious economic consequences on British Columbiaâ if its opposition to the project continues.
âIn cabinet, we discussed the importance of getting this pipeline built,â Notley said. âIf the voices of the majority of Canadians are forgotten, the reverberations of that will tear at the fabric of confederation for many years to come.â
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr reaffirmed Prime Minister Justin Trudeauâs assurance that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will continue.
Horganâs efforts to stop the project âharm the entire Canadian economy,â Carr said. âAt a time of great global trade uncertainty, the importance of Canadaâs role in the global energy market is bigger than individual projects and provinces.â
