There was some speculation in the media this week that B.C.’s new NDP government is backing away from its opposition to Kinder Morgan’s $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
One reason was the mandate letter from Premier John Horgan to Environment Minister George Heyman, directing him to employ every tool to “defend B.C.’s interests” in the face of the expansion – rather than to block construction, as promised with great vehemence in the election campaign.
The change in language was noted by Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, who reportedly hoped it didn’t indicate “a change in the NDP’s position on this project.”
Another perceived sign was the avoidance of the topic on Tuesday in Ottawa during Horgan’s first joint press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In fact, the issue was relegated to a joke – “comedy gold,” as one eastern pundit described it – when Horgan knocked over a water glass and quipped, “Spills can happen anywhere.”
Horgan did say, when asked by reporters, that he was still waiting to be fully briefed by the attorney general and had spoken with the leadership of the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam and Squamish First Nations, which have filed lawsuits against the federal government to halt the project. Horgan said he had “heard very clearly their views on the matter, and we’ll deal with those in the days and weeks ahead, but for today our focus is on making sure we’re helping those who need help.”
That focus led some political observers to conclude that the NDP will do a trade-off with Ottawa on Kinder Morgan in exchange for heaps of federal money to help pay for the party’s ambitious affordability agenda.
The reality is that the pipeline project falls under federal jurisdiction, has federal approval and was issued an environmental certificate by the previous B.C. government. The company has announced it wants to start construction in September. David Eby, the new attorney general, said in Kamloops this week that the province will not stall on issuing permits because to do so would be risking a very costly lawsuit.
The NDP has little choice but to proceed in good faith on a project that is legally “good to go” and likely the only meaningful opposition will come from the First Nations that are fighting it in court. That’s where the final showdown will be.
