It was dangerous, unwieldy, incompetently constructed and desperately in need of replacement. Yes, the National Energy Board had many flaws, and that’s why the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been stopped – for now.
Canada’s federal court of appeal essentially plugged the pipeline Thursday, in part because the federal review process gave Indigenous people a chance “to blow off steam,” and nothing more. In a unanimous decision, the judges noted concerns over the environmental impact of shipping 890,000 barrels a day were essentially ignored.
We would offer pity to the poor fools stuck paying the bill for that pipeline, if only we weren’t those same fools.
Our federal government, apparently under the illusion they knew more about oil pipelines than an oil pipeline company, agreed to pay Kinder Morgan $4.5 billion for a project that now might never happen.
We wouldn’t mind the emperor having no clothes if he weren’t spending 10 figures on invisible attire.
Having positioned themselves as guardians of Canada’s wildlife and waterways, some Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish First Nations representatives greeted the verdict by declaring: “We are winning.”
So who’s losing?
Hopefully, no one. Yes, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will pay a political price that may make billions in white collar welfare look like chump change. But we contend that the federal court has merely forced Trudeau to do what he should have done in the first place: abandon fossil fuels and treat global warming like it’s the most serious threat Canada has ever faced.
Four billion dollars is a ludicrous price to pay to learn that lesson. But if we’ve learned, it’s money well-spent.
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