SHANNON Stubbs, Conservative shadow minister for natural resources, reacting to the federal government’s financial commitment to complete the Trans Mountain Expansion, said on Wednesday: “Only Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau could take a project that Canadians support, creates thousands of jobs, and helps our economy, and put it on taxpayer-funded life support.”
She added: “The fact that the only solution the Prime Minister has proposed is using taxpayer dollars to backstop this project is evidence of his failed energy policy. The Liberals have had a year and a half to come up with a plan to ensure that this important project gets built, but instead of taking action and establishing a concrete plan, they have done nothing while roadblock after roadblock has been thrown in the way of Kinder Morgan.
“Kinder Morgan never asked for taxpayer money or a federal backstop. They simply want certainty, clarity, and a solution to the ongoing challenges and delays.
“Nothing the Finance Minister said today will ensure that the Trans Mountain Expansion actually gets built. The Liberals still don’t have a concrete plan of action to remove delays. Their own policies continue to drive energy investment out of Canada at historic levels.
“Prime Minister Trudeau failed Canadian workers and our energy sector as a whole when he vetoed the approved Northern Gateway pipeline and when he killed the Energy East pipeline with last minute rule changes and a regulatory standard that doesn’t apply to any other sector of the Canadian economy. His decisions to impose an oil tanker ban, a job-killing carbon tax and new regulations that penalize Canadian oil exports have damaged investor confidence and forced companies to reconsider future projects.
“Now the Trans Mountain Expansion is at risk because the Prime Minister has put Canada at a serious competitive disadvantage. No amount of taxpayers’ money will be enough to make up for Prime Minister Trudeau’s failed policies.
“Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives will continue to demand that the government come up with a real plan to address this crisis, and we will continue to champion Canadian energy.”