B.C. Premier John Horgan says he doesn’t understand why the Alberta government is threatening to sue British Columbia. Speaking for the first time since his government announced potential restrictions on the flow of bitumen from Alberta to B.C.’s coast, Horgan says he isn’t concerned about facing his neighbour to the east in court.
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“There is nothing to take to court, we are consulting with the people of British Columbia,” said Horgan at a press conference in the Okanagan. “I think it is way too premature to talk about these sort of issues when we are just putting together a paper to put before the people we represent.”
Horgan says he spoke to Alberta premier Rachel Notley over the phone yesterday. Notley told reporters that British Columbia is not legally allowed to restrict the flow of oil, which would likely derail the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline twinning.
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The B.C. government insists no new regulations are in place yet and there is public consultation under way that follows guidelines set out in the Environmental Management Act. The consultation is expected to take months.
“We believe we have every right to protect our marine environment and economy,” said Horgan. “It is our obligation to make sure that if any economy activity is going to take place it is important for the government of British Columbia to protect the public interest. We are consulting widely and we haven’t put anything in place yet. I am surprised by the response we are getting from Alberta.”
Notley spoke to the media in Edmonton for the third day in a row on Thursday about the pipeline restrictions. She says her government is immediately going to cut off any discussions with B.C. about an electricity inter-tie.
“I would say suspending talks on a project that had the potential to deliver up to half a billion dollars a year to B.C. Hydro is not ‘not tough,” said Notley.
Notley added the inter-tie does not have to do with the still to be completed Site C Dam.
Political scientist David Moscrop said there’s no doubt the Prime Minister will have to get involved in the dispute between B.C. and Alberta.
“I think at some point there’s going to be a very serious sit-down to try to mediate it, but I think there’s no choice but to continue to oppose it and the Alberta government has no choice but to continue to press for it.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be in Nanaimo on Friday as part of his cross country town hall tour. The federal Liberal government approved the pipeline twinning.
When speaking to Kelsey Campbell of 630CHED in Edmonton on Thursday morning, he vowed to see the project through to completion.
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“It is important to understand the provinces have differences of opinions and different approaches all the time and one of the reasons we have a national government is to step up for the interest of all Canadians and that is exactly what we are going to do,” said Trudeau. “We were assured, we did the science, we did the research that the Kinder Morgan pipeline is not a danger to the B.C. coast.”
“We will ensure the Kinder Morgan pipeline gets built.”
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With files from Global News Radio reporter Jeremy Lye
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