Ottawa to use financial, legislative measures to ensure Trans Mountain pipeline is built
(The Star Food)

OTTAWA—Ottawa will use financial and legislative measures to ensure the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline moves ahead, B.C. Premier John Horgan said after a Sunday meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.Trudeau convened a high-profile meeting with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Horgan on Parliament Hill in hopes of breaking the political deadlock that has stalled construction of the project.The three leaders huddled for almost two hours — with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr in on the discussions — but ended with B.C. unbowed in its opposition to the pipeline.Horgan said the conversation was frank, collegial and respectful, but Trudeau made clear the federal government would be intervening to ensure the $7.4 billion project would move ahead..“We continue to disagree on the question of moving diluted bitumen from Alberta to the port of Vancouver,� he said.Horgan said he will send a reference question to B.C.’s Superior Court in the coming days to settle the question of whether the province has any jurisdiction to “protect B.C.’s coast� and block the flow of heavy crude to Burnaby.In addition, he said he wants to ensure there are enough federal and provincial resources to address “gaps� the NDP government sees in the $1.5 billion oceans protection plan, citing timeliness of response to potential future oil spills. He said a recent diesel spill in B.C. took a month to clean up “and that’s a federal responsibility. I don`t think we can wait a month if there was a diluted bitumen spill.“Although we agreed today on the importance of protecting our coast, he will not be in power forever and that`s why the jurisdictional question is so critically important.�He said that Trudeau assured him that B.C. would not be financially punished for its opposition.“I don’t believe the crisis that has emerged here is one that s ...