Letters

Conservatives present a plan to fix Trudeau’s pipeline failures

October 4, 2018   ·   0 Comments

by David Tilson

The current Liberal government still doesn’t have a plan to put the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project on track to being built after spending $4.5 billion of taxpayer money to buy it.

The leader of the Official Opposition, Andrew Scheer, in stark contrast, laid out a clear plan to fix Trudeau’s pipeline failures earlier this week. He also laid out the steps a Conservative government will take in 2019 to undo the damage Prime Minister Trudeau’s failures have caused.

It’s been over three weeks since the Federal Court struck down the Trans Mountain expansion project and the Prime Minister and his Liberal government have failed to present a plan of action to ensure the pipeline is completed. Canadians still have no timeline for construction, no timeline for completion, and no timeline for the thousands of jobs this project will create.

Before Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, we had three private companies willing to invest more than $30 billion to build three, nation-building projects that would’ve created tens of thousands of jobs and generated billions in economic activity. Since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, we don’t have any.

The only thing which has changed between then – when pipelines were proposed, approved, and actually built – and now – when pipelines are suffocated to death by government overreach and incompetence – is Justin Trudeau becoming Prime Minister of Canada.

Prime Minister Trudeau should be taking a number of steps to ensure the Trans Mountain pipeline is built, including: appointing a Ministerial Special Representative to complete the indigenous consultation process; enacting emergency legislation to affirm that Transport Canada’s analysis of tanker traffic was sufficient and doesn’t need to be duplicated by the National Energy Board; requesting a stay of the Federal Court of Appeal ruling and appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada; and support Bill S-245 to clarify that the pipeline is under federal jurisdiction.

In 2019, a Conservative government will: repeal the Liberal Carbon Tax and Bill C-69, the Anti-Pipeline Bill; and end the ban on shipping traffic on the North Coast of British Columbia. A Conservative government will enact legislation that will: clarify the roles of proponents and governments that are involved in consultations; ensure that standing is given only to those with expertise or who are directly impacted by the project in order to end foreign-funded interference in regulatory hearings; and provide certainty to investors on approval timelines and schedules.

A Conservative government will also use the federal declaratory power to declare a major project ‘for the general advantage of Canada’ under Section 92.10 of the Constitution Act, 1867, where we deem it necessary for future projects.

Canadians are demanding leadership after months of Prime Minister Trudeau’s pipeline failures. We, the Conservative Official Opposition, are demonstrating leadership by presenting a clear plan to have the Trans Mountain expansion built, to reverse the Prime Minister’s disastrous policies and make Canada a place where energy investments are encouraged. Our plan is comprehensive and makes use of every possible tool the government has at its disposal. This is the kind of strong and effective leadership Canadians expect and deserve.

         

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