Edmonton’s regional mayors got together on Monday to reaffirm their support for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
The push, which comes ahead of this week’s annual national convention of municipal politicians in Halifax, is to urge leaders in all other regions of the country to also offer their collective support for the Kinder Morgan project because of the jobs it will bring.
“I think there’s an opportunity for our governments to look at the payback to them,” said Spruce Grove Mayor Stuart Houston, who is a member of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB). “This project alone — in the next 20 years — will put $46.7 billion into our federal and provincial coffers.”
Houston says he is confident that by the time the mayors get to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) convention, they’ll have heard good news out of Calgary from a speech by federal finance minister Bill Morneau.
The mayors arrive in Halifax on Thursday. Kinder Morgan has set May 31 as the deadline for getting a favourable signal from the federal government that the project will go ahead.
The public statement from the EMRB follows up on a resolution Mayor Houston tabled with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).
“I brought it to the AUMA to send a letter of support to the prime minister, asking them to use their ancillary powers to push this pipeline through for the benefit of all of Canada.”
Houston said they’ll be talking to mayors from B.C. He said many of them support the project.