Dear Editor,
When Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, three major energy companies had pipeline projects in the works – Northern Gateway, Energy East and Trans Mountain – they were prepared to build in Canada. Now, thanks to Liberal policies and decisions we have none that are ready to go forward.
Last week, the Federal Court of Appeal found that under the Liberal government, they had failed to properly consult indigenous peoples on the Trans Mountain Expansion.
The Trans Mountain pipeline is crucial to oil and gas workers across Canada and to the regional economies that stand to benefit from its expansion, including the 43 First Nation communities that have benefit agreements worth $400 million, which now hang in the balance.
Just recently, Prime Minister Trudeau was given multiple opportunities to outline his plan to get the Trans Mountain Expansion built and Canadians back to work. Instead, he chose to rely on empty rhetoric. This comes after he forced Liberal MPs on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources to shut down a study of the government’s handling of the Trans Mountain Expansion.
When the Liberals announced that they were nationalizing the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, Canadians were told that their $4.5 billion would allow construction to begin immediately. The reality is that now taxpayers are the shareholders of this monstrous Liberal boondoggle and not one new centimetre of pipeline has been built.
Thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs because of the Liberal government’s failure. It is absolutely unacceptable that taxpayers are on the hook for a $4.5 billion pipeline that may never be built.
Worse still, Prime Minister Trudeau’s failure to get the Trans Mountain Expansion built is now threatening other expansions in the oil and gas sector, adding to the total number of jobs at risk.
The Liberal government needs to immediately outline a concrete plan to ensure that the Trans Mountain Expansion is actually completed. Workers deserve to know when construction will start and when the project will be completed.
Please let me know what you think about the Liberal government using your tax dollars to nationalize a pipeline by emailing me directly at [email protected]
