Thread by @MLAIrfanSabir

Just 50 days ago, Premier Jason Kenney made a $7.5B financial commitment to TC Energy for building the KXL pipeline. In his words, it was a "bold move".

It was likely the single biggest financial decision ever made on behalf of Alberta's taxpayers. /THREAD

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

And in another bold move, Premier Kenney refused to divulge the details of the deal.

As Albertans know well, the economics work for major pipeline linking our energy sector to the world. Once built, these projects have proven to be excellent investments. 2/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

Unfortunately, what has plagued these projects hasn't been economics, but political risk. It was true for TMX and for KXL.

The decision to take a public ownership in TMX reduced the single biggest barrier to that project moving forward: political risk. 3/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

We can see the results in TMX case, with pipe going in the ground as we speak.

Unfortunately, Premier Kenney's decision for Alberta to take a public ownership stake in KXL did nothing to mitigate the political risk of this project. 4/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

And Keystone is a project whose future rests entirely in the realm American presidential politics.

President Obama vetoed the project (Joe Biden supported that decision then) and President Trump revived it, with a Presidential Permit. 5/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

Critically, this permit is revocable at any point by the President, and it appears that the permittee (TC Energy and Alberta taxpayers) have no right to sue for damages. 6/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

With the US Presidential election just six months away, we heard the least surprising announcement of this political cycle: the presumptive Democratic nominee, former VP Joe Biden, would again veto the KXL project and rescind the Presidential Permit. 7/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

Joe Biden has a long history of opposing this project, and he stood shoulder to shoulder with President Obama when KXL was first derailed back in early 2015. 8/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

What has been most surprising is that our Premier seemed genuinely caught off guard that Joe Biden would continue to oppose the project. It appears that he hadn't considered the single biggest risk to the project when he committed $7B to socialize it. 9/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

While the vast majority of Albertans support the KXL project in principle, they've learned some hard lessons on pipeline projects in general. Key lesson No. 1: The devil is in the details. 10/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

Albertans likely won't truly know the fate of the KXL project for at least a year, as the decision is entirely out of our control. Elections and horse-trading in Washington will likely rule the day. 11/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

Albertans, as part equity owners, deserve to know the details on the deal made behind closed doors. You simply can't put $7.5B of Alberta's money at risk, and then refuse to disclose the terms of the deal. This is a betrayal of our democratic traditions. 12/

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL

When the legislature resumes sitting, the Official Opposition will again be calling on Premier Kenney to release the details on his deal. It is our belief that you, the public, deserve to know the details, so you can judge this decision for yourself. /END

#AbLeg #KeystoneXL