Brad Wall slams federal government over cancellation of Energy East pipeline

Calling it a bad day for the west and calling into question Saskatchewan’s role in the federal system, Premier Brad Wall laid the blame for the cancellation of the Energy East pipeline squarely “at the feet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government.”

“They have been, at best, ambivalent about the project and then moved the goalposts at the last moment by asking the regulator to consider the impact of upstream greenhouse gas emissions,” Wall said in a statement.

READ MORE: TransCanada kills plan for Energy East pipeline

TransCanada announced Thursday morning it was cancelling plans for the proposed Energy East pipeline and Eastern Mainline projects.

Energy East would have moved 1.1 million barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta and Saskatchewan as far east as Saint John, New Brunswick.

National Resource Minister Jim Carr said TransCanada’s decision to cancel the pipeline was a “business decision” fueled by commodity prices.

Carr also noted the government has given approval to two other pipelines: the Trans Mountain and Enbridge Line 3 expansion projects.

READ MORE: N.B. premier ‘disappointed’ Energy East pipeline project abandoned

Wall said the decision is a blow against an energy sector “that employs thousands and has paid, on average, over the last three years $17 billion annually in taxes and royalties to Canadian governments.”

“$17 billion is enough to pay for 680 new schools, 1.8 million knee replacements and 4.25 million child care spaces. We have lost an opportunity to strengthen quality of life in Canada.”

Wall said Trudeau’s “lack of interest and leadership – or worse, intentional decisions and policies” led to TransCanada’s decision.

“He should answer for this. He needs to be held accountable for this,” Wall stated.

READ MORE: Alberta politicians express disappointment over TransCanada decision to cancel Energy East pipeline

Wall also called into question Saskatchewan’s role in the federal system and said something needs to change.

“Our taxpayers in Saskatchewan and Alberta will continue to send, without question, about $2.5 billion in equalization payments to help support Quebec that receives $11 billion in equalization per year and $1.4 billion to Ontario.”

“For the west to continue on like this in our federal system is the equivalent of having Stockholm syndrome.”

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s full statement:

Today is not a good day for Canada.  It is not a good day for the federation.  It is a very bad day for the west.

TransCanada made the decision to cancel Energy East – but make no mistake, the reasons for it fall at the feet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government.  They have been, at best, ambivalent about the project and then moved the goalposts at the last moment by asking the regulator to consider the impact of upstream greenhouse gas emissions.

Imagine if something like this was considered prior to the construction of auto assembly plants in Ontario or the factories that manufacture heavily subsidized jets in Quebec or the highways and rails that transport those products.

Former federal Liberal Cabinet Minister, and now Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre cheers the cancellation of this pipeline.  He who leads a city that, just two years ago, used a pipeline to dump 4.9 BILLION litres, or nearly 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence Seaway.

It is a good thing that Mr. Coderre’s hypocrisy needs no pipeline for conveyance, for it would need to be very large and could never get approved for construction.

When Coderre cheers for the end of this pipeline, he cheers for the imported oil we buy from Saudi Arabia, where women can now drive, but the public beheadings continue.

He is cheering against an energy sector in our country that employs thousands and has paid, on average, over the last three years $17 billion annually in taxes and royalties to Canadian governments.

$17 billion is enough to pay for 680 new schools, 1.8 million knee replacements and 4.25 million child care spaces.  We have lost an opportunity to strengthen quality of life in Canada.

Beyond the immediate impact, there are other reasons to be concerned.

A new Liberal carbon tax, new Liberal tax changes for small business (that will hurt many in the energy sector and farmers), changes to the NEB applied only to this sector and not to others, and methane regulations that will not be mirrored south of the border, with whom we must compete for job creating investment dollars.

We have a company that committed more than a billion dollars to a project and made earnest efforts to address the concerns of the public and regulators.  A company that made 700 changes to its plans as part of that response.  Make no mistake, other companies’ decisions to invest in Canada will be informed by this debacle.

The expectation of course from the federal government, and some powerful central Canadian interests, is that the west will just grin and bear this latest blow to our economy and our people.

That our taxpayers in Saskatchewan and Alberta will continue to send, without question, about $2.5 billion in equalization payments to help support Quebec that receives $11 billion in equalization per year and $1.4 billion to Ontario.  All of this despite the fact that low energy prices have resulted in job losses and lower revenues for the last four years.

Something needs to change.  For the west to continue on like this in our federal system is the equivalent of having Stockholm syndrome.

The decision by TransCanada to cancel the Energy East project was made because of a lack of interest and leadership – or worse, intentional decisions and policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.  He should answer for this. He needs to be held accountable for this.

His actions and his government’s actions may well have some westerners wondering if this country really values western Canada, the resources we have, and the things we do to contribute to the national economy and to quality of life for all.