A group of B.C. business, community and labour leaders is boarding a flight to Edmonton early tomorrow morning with a message of support for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
“Our goal in going to Alberta tomorrow is to meet with business and government leaders in the province of Alberta to set the record straight and demonstrate that there is a lot of support for the pipeline expansion in British Columbia, despite the opposition that Canadians keep hearing about through the media,” Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president and CEO Iain Black said at a press conference Wednesday.
“We want to show support for a broader message of how important natural resources are in this country,” he said, adding: “We want to send a message that getting approval from the federal government in this country after the most exhaustive analysis and assessment process of its kind that has ever been done, it actually means something in the international business community.”
The initiative, dubbed Federation Flight, includes around 100 people from the business community, First Nations, community and labour leaders.
The push started last month after Kinder Morgan announced it was stopping all non-essential spending on the pipeline because of the “unquantifiable risk” it would not be allowed to proceed even though it has met provincial and federal requirements.
Laura Jones, executive vice-president and chief strategic officer at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, called the move “very unusual.”
“In reaction to Kinder Morgan’s unusual statement, the business community did something unusual. Business associations from Halifax to Victoria came together to express our deep dismay that confidence in Canada was at risk,” she said.
At an event in April, representatives from the business community, construction industry, local governments and others signed a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supporting the project. It now has more than 100 signatures, Jones said.
“Tomorrow’s Federation Flight is another example of this solidarity.”
Delegates on the flight will visit the Alberta legislature and attend a luncheon hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce before meeting with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and their provincial counterparts.
The aim of the mission is to bridge the rift that has developed between the two provinces over the pipeline project.
“This project was approved nearly two years ago, and where are we today? There are no shovels in the ground,” said Chris Gardner, president of the B.C. Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.
“The responsibility of where we are today rests solely at the feet of Premier John Horgan. Premier Horgan is effectively ripping up a contract that was negotiated in good faith by a company that is prepared to invest $7.4 billion into our energy economy,” he said. “Premier Horgan is saying the process doesn’t matter, the rules don’t matter, the law doesn’t matter and that’s just simply unacceptable. The energy sector in this country is on its knees. Project after project has been delayed or cancelled.”
On Wednesday, Notley said she was prepared to “turn off the taps” if there is no progress on the pipeline project soon as her government’s bill that gives the province the power to limit oil shipments was passed into law. And federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters the federal government would indemnify the project against any financial losses.
jkerr@vancourier.com
