The leader of B.C.’s Green Party says he’s confident that NDP Premier John Horgan won’t back down in his opposition to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion during an upcoming meeting with the prime minister.
In an interview on this weekend’s edition of The West Block, Andrew Weaver said he is in regular contact with Horgan and “there’s simply no difference between our views.”
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Horgan is set to sit down with Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on Sunday as the three try to come up with a solution to the pipeline impasse. Kinder Morgan has said it needs more certainty around the project, and could pull the plug in late May if B.C. makes any further attempt to block it.
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The NDP are hanging on to power in British Columbia, thanks to support from Weaver’s Green Party, which holds three seats in the provincial legislature.
Asked if he could withdraw that support if Horgan wavers on Trans Mountain, Weaver replied: “I don’t even want to entertain that question.”
If Horgan won’t budge, the federal government has a few options to force Trans Mountain through, but none are politically palatable.
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While experts agree that the federal government has jurisdiction when it comes to the project, any attempt to plow ahead amid B.C.’s objections could trigger a constitutional crisis.
“The constitutional crisis would be if Mr. Trudeau were to suddenly override the wishes of a sitting government in British Columbia,” Weaver warned.
“I look forward to working with my friends in the province of Quebec to actually bring them on our side, as they recognize that this bodes very poorly for federal-provincial jurisdictional exchanges.”
Quebec voiced strong opposition to the Energy East pipeline, which was eventually scrapped.
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According to Weaver, the diluted bitumen that would be transported from Alberta to B.C.’s coast via Trans Mountain would cause a massive ecological disaster if it were ever to spill. Kinder Morgan is also realizing, he said, that the project isn’t financially viable with Canadian oil priced so low.
“All that Mr. Horgan has done right now is seek a judicial ruling … to try and determine the extent to which British Columbia can enforce its jurisdictional rights and responsibility to try to safeguard its citizens and the coast of B.C.”
See the full interview with Andrew Weaver on this Sunday’s edition of The West Block, airing 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT.