Ms. Kennedy-Glans was decidedly among the adults in the room among MLAs when I covered Alberta politics years ago. That she's now sharing this suggests either a shift in her thinking, or is a sign that mainstream Calgary believes this to be true. I assume the latter.
A couple thoughts. One is that most constitutional lawyers I interview are perfectly happy to be quoted on the record; who is this one? Second, they tend to say that the power being suggested here is irrelevant -- courts aren't questioning federal authority over Trans Mountain.
Declaring you have the power to build something is in some ways an admission that you might otherwise not.
Thatcher jumps to mind for me when it comes to pipelines: “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”
Thatcher jumps to mind for me when it comes to pipelines: “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”
So now we have a former MLA suggesting Trudeau has committed treason, "and not just in the court of public opinion." ie: literal, criminal treason. And doing so on the heels of rallies in Alberta suggesting the same.
(A sign in Edmonton at a rally depicted a noose, a person and the words Trudeau and Treason; and a guy at that big rally in Calgary a few weeks ago had a shirt that said Come West Trudeau, with a tree and a noose.)
So it seems remarkable to be relaying that in something close to the mainstream. (Some might, I suppose, say Ms. Kennedy-Glans is reflecting or relaying that view, or exploring it; others may say she's giving it unneeded air.)
Friendly recap of pipelines in Canada:
Enbridge Line 3 is being built, expected to open next year.
Keystone XL has hit another snag. (It's not just Canada!)
Energy East is dead; a sizable support package Alberta had pledged for it was basically moved to KXL. (Same builder.)
Enbridge Line 3 is being built, expected to open next year.
Keystone XL has hit another snag. (It's not just Canada!)
Energy East is dead; a sizable support package Alberta had pledged for it was basically moved to KXL. (Same builder.)
Trudeau is regularly accused of killing Energy East, which is at best an oversimplification, and at worst wrong. Energy East was always a bit of a hail mary in a $100-oil-era, with, to boot, no clear route through Quebec.
Remember when everyone was mad at Denis Coderre for blocking a pipeline while dumping raw sewage in the river? Same pipeline, which now people are just blaming Trudeau for instead. OK...?
Anyhow, on Energy East, Trudeau added downstream emissions as a factor to consider. Complicating things.
Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back, but that camel was carrying a lot of straw already.
Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back, but that camel was carrying a lot of straw already.
Anyhow, which brings us to Trans Mountain. Trudeau's government bought it, which is akin to how Harper must have felt bailing out the auto sector -- at-odds with their world view, but nonetheless a reality of governing.
The alternative was not buying it and seeing it die.
The alternative was not buying it and seeing it die.
The court dealt yet another blow, sending Trudeau back to the drawing board a bit. The NEB has to do some work, and they have to do more indigenous consultation.
I get the sense Trudeau has avoided putting a firm deadline on consultation to avoid accusations it's hollow.
I get the sense Trudeau has avoided putting a firm deadline on consultation to avoid accusations it's hollow.
The Trudeau government talks regularly about moving forward in the right way on Trans Mountain -- ie: probably building it, but in a way that won't end them up back in court.
You don't spend C$4.5B to buy a pipeline to kill its expansion, when you could have killed it for free.
You don't spend C$4.5B to buy a pipeline to kill its expansion, when you could have killed it for free.
Anyhow, things really set off last month when the "differential" -- the gap between benchmark WTI oil prices, and the lower, WCS price Canadian heavy crude gets -- widened sharply to like $46.
This was due to a bunch of things, but basically too much oil, not enough capacity.
This was due to a bunch of things, but basically too much oil, not enough capacity.
It has since snapped back, to about $15 today.
A smaller differential, by the way, means less justification for shipping over very long pipelines (Energy East) or by rail, which costs more than pipelines.
Another big issue was Northern Gateway. Here, Trudeau's role is much clearer than in Energy East. A court struck it down and Trudeau killed it by not jumping through the hoops the court wanted. (He's jumping through similar hoops now on Trans Mountain.)
Trudeau campaigned on killing Gateway, so it was not a surprise, but having that pipeline would have helped alleviate the kinds of supply gluts Canada has now.
Meanwhile, Alberta's unemployment rate is 6.3%, versus 5.6% nationally, though wages remain comparatively high.
Alberta also, needless to say, is a big driver of the Canadian economy. Canada sells a lot of oil, and rakes in more $ when it can sell it for a higher price.
Alberta also, needless to say, is a big driver of the Canadian economy. Canada sells a lot of oil, and rakes in more $ when it can sell it for a higher price.
The Conservative leader, Andrew Scheer, has called on the government to simply "build that pipe," presumably immediately, without saying how exactly that could work. A court killed the permit. You could start building, but eventually a court would say whoa whoa whoa, hold on.
Trudeau was asked about Trans Mountain at his press conference last week here in Ottawa (by, I should add, @jbellava, who writes for La Presse, a French-language paper. It's not just Alberta watching this file.) Trudeau declined to tell JD what year construction would start.
So, wild times, and a political powder keg. Here's hoping for no more layoffs in the oil patch, in particular over the holidays. But that WTI benchmark price (left) is falling just as the Canadian price had recovered, only to fall again (right). 
Anyhow, Merry Christmas everyone, particularly home sweet home Alberta, where folks who are out of work, or at risk of being so, moved to *for work.* This is, in essence, a double whammy for some -- the economy stinks in their hometown, and they moved, and now things stink again.
(Please don't hang me.)
Brief addendum: a view from a guy who knows this stuff, arguing thoughtfully that signals matter in global markets.
