B.C. Court of Appeal Ruling That TMX is Federal Jurisdiction

Conservatives are pleased with the B.C. Court of Appeal’s decision today reaffirming that inter-provincial pipeline projects fall under federal jurisdiction. However, major hurdles still exist to building pipelines, like the Trans Mountain Expansion.

The Liberals continue to block pipeline construction with their ‘No-More Pipelines’ Bill C-69, their ‘oil export ban’ Bill C-48, and their refusal to assert federal leadership on these projects. Before the private sector proponent threatened to abandon the Trans Mountain Expansion, I requested – multiple times – for unanimous consent to pass Bill S-245 before Kinder-Morgan halted construction on this federally approved project.

Bill S-245 would have declared the Trans Mountain Expansion to be to the ‘general advantage of Canada,’ providing federal leadership and certainty to the private sector proponent that the threats from other levels of government would not block construction of this federally approved project. The lack of federal leadership from the Liberal government was a large factor in Kinder-Morgan abandoning the project. If the Liberals supported Bill S-245 when Conservatives requested, and asserted federal leadership, the Trans Mountain Expansion would be built without needing a single tax dollar.

Pipeline projects such as the Trans Mountain Expansion are in Canada’s national interest and are good for Canadians across the country. They generate tens of thousands of direct jobs, and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs in manufacturing, the service sector, finance and banking, as well as oil and gas development.

The Liberals committed to making a final decision on the Trans Mountain Expansion by June 18th. After approving this pipeline in 2016, Canadians should rightfully expect this Liberal government to approve this pipeline again. But a simple approval isn’t enough.

The Liberals failed to assert federal leadership after they approved the project in 2016. The courts ruled the Liberals failed to follow their own plan for indigenous consultations. The Liberals’ mistakes and stops to the approvals process have added years to the completion date for this project. The Liberals need to demonstrate to Canadians they have a plan to actually build this pipeline immediately.

An Andrew Scheer government will take action to support vital pipeline projects such as the Trans Mountain Expansion, and champion Canada’s world leading oil and gas sector.