Premier John Horgan must feel as if all the other kids in the playground are ganging up on him. On Wednesday, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau blamed him for Ottawa’s decision to back the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion with federal dollars, while Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is ready to use her new oil-regulation legislation to “turn off the taps” to B.C.
“We need to deal with the extraordinary risks that have been presented by Premier Horgan,” Morneau said.
Being portrayed as the problem child of Confederation can’t be much fun, but B.C.’s premier seems determined to stick to his guns in opposing the pipeline. His counterparts are equally determined to give no ground in their push to get the pipeline built.
“I’m doing what I said I would do,” Horgan told reporters. “I’m not causing any risks.”
That’s obviously not true. Horgan is doing his best within the law to stall it. That has to cause uncertainty, which creates risk for investors. That’s why Kinder Morgan has set a deadline of May 31 to decide whether to continue or jump ship.
By backstopping the investors, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is trying to take the American company out of the fight, which makes this a purely family spat — Canadians against Canadians.
Regardless of what happens to the pipeline, this battle is feeding bitterness that will last a generation.
