In what Alberta Premier Rachel Notley described as a “very frank chat” in a phone call to British Columbia Premier John Horgan, she made it clear that B.C.’s opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline threatens the rule of law in Canada and that her province is retaliating.
According to Canadian Press, she says she is also introducing legislation this week to give Alberta the power to reduce oil flows to B.C., which could send gas prices in the province soaring.
Notley’s comments after Kinder Morgan announced Sunday it was scaling back work on the Trans Mountain pipeline, saying opposition from the B.C. government puts the project at risk – opposition that is taking the form of legal challenges and permit delays over concerns about oil spills and coastline protection.
The expansion project, from Edmonton to Burnaby, already has federal approval and Notley says B.C.’s actions ignore the rule of law and threaten to provoke a constitutional crisis.
“There are those out there who are, at this point, calling this moment that we are in a constitutional crisis for the country,” Notley said in a statement Monday prior to a cabinet meeting. “I don’t know really if that’s too far off.”
Kinder Morgan has given a deadline of May 31 for a clear signal that the Trans Mountain project can proceed.
(Canadian Press)
