Canada’s federal government in Ottawa could face a number of lawsuits over its decision to spend $4.5 billion of taxpayer money to purchase the Kinder Morgan oil pipeline and expand its capacity to move Alberta crude to the British Columbia coast.
Effectively, Ottawa is nationalizing the pipeline – a move that could be challenged in court by provincial governments, environmental groups, indigenous bands and even taxpayers. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Tuesday at a news conference that “The Trans Mountain project is of vital interest to Canada and Canadians… Getting (it) built will preserve thousands of good, well-paying jobs.”
But already, the controversial plan to expand the pipeline and increase its capacity to move crude oil from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean in neighbouring British Columbia is the subject of several legal challenges, and experts say Ottawa could now be dragged headlong into the legal battles.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan remains steadfast in his opposition to the project and has asked the province's highest court to rule on whether it has the constitutional right to impose environmental restrictions. And many analysts say that the $4.5 billion Ottawa is spending to purchase the pipeline doesn't include what could be billions of dollars more in construction costs, or the costs of cleaning up a future oil spill, as well as legal bills.
There could also be some political risk in Ottawa’s move to buy the Kinder Morgan project as British Columbia is expected to be a key battleground province in next year's federal election — a province where all three major political parties are competitive, and which happens to be the home base for Canada’s federal Green Party and its leader Elizabeth May.
In Ottawa, the opposition Conservative Party supports the pipeline expansion, but criticized the Liberals' decision to buy the project outright, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s handling of the file has been so inept that the only option left to the government was to build the expanded pipeline with taxpayer money.
Related Stories
