Canada’s economy was dealt a severe blow on Aug. 24, 2018 when three judges from Canada’s Court of Appeal ruled that the Trans Mountain pipeline could not proceed at this time because the Federal Government [think Justin Trudeau] did not consult properly with the indigenous people and the National Energy Board (NEB) did not adequately consider the effect of more tankers on marine life.
You sometimes wonder what goes through the heads of judges. This pipeline expansion had all the approvals necessary for construction to proceed a long time ago, including the then government of B.C.
The whole scenario changed when the Liberal government of Christy Clark lost a provincial election by one seat.
That left both the Liberals and the NDP in a minority position. The Green Party had three seats and the balance of power.
They decided to prop up the NDP if they would oppose the Trans Mountain project, which the NDP were only too happy to do.
These judges had to know that all that changed was political bias. It did not matter what the Federal Government or the NEB did, the indigenous people would come up with reasons to oppose the project.
Yet the judges ruled in their favour instead of looking at the big picture.
That project was in the national interest and a benefit to the economy. That did not seem to be as important as the concerns of aboriginals who had no skin in the game.
This country is gradually coming to a grinding halt due to stupid over-regulation.
You would think the judges in a national court would be influenced by what was in the national interest rather than petty politics.
I am getting sick and tired of indigenous people complaining every time a decision does not go their way.
The indigenous people that were directly affected by the pipeline were all in agreement as it meant jobs and other benefits for them. Forty-three indigenous communities stood to gain $400 million. The other indigenous people have no justifiable reason for opposing the pipeline, they have no skin in the game so their opposition should not be considered.
In fact, they actually were consulted. It does not matter how much you consult with these people, if they are not in agreement, their fall back has always been ‘we were not properly consulted!’
It seems to me that neither Trudeau nor Notley were ever really committed to getting the pipeline built.
Where is Trudeau’s outrage at this decision? He is simply saying that we will have to do a better job of consulting with the indigenous people.
Trudeau appears to be quite unconcerned about this development.
He is much more committed to the Paris Climate Change Accord. For some reason, he will do almost anything to gain the favour of the UN. That is the reason for his climate change plan including the carbon tax. He seems to think that it is vitally important to have Canada represented on the United Nations Security Council.
As I have written before, that council is useless because every time it is required to make an important decision, Russia and or China will veto the decision.
At least Notley did express visible outrage at the decision. I don’t think she is really a big fan of pipelines either but this decision has put her between a rock and a hard place due to the timing.
There will be no construction on that pipeline now before the next provincial election.
She was betting her political future on construction of the pipeline.
That was her social license for justifying the carbon tax.
Trudeau talks a good line about energy development and the environment going together, but he expresses no real passion to have construction underway as soon as possible.
The pipeline will never get built unless we get a change of government in October 2019!
by Herman Schwenk
