Feds explore buying Trans Mountain; Morneau’s decision coming Tuesday
Posted May 28, 2018 4:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Bill Morneau will announce as early as Tuesday morning where the government plans to go with Kinder Morgan to ensure the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gets built.
There are three options on the table, which include the government buying and building the expansion, then selling it once it’s complete; and buying it on an interim basis, then selling it to investors and leaving them to handle the construction.
Morneau has already unveiled the third option: leaving original project architect Kinder Morgan to handle construction, but covering any cost overruns incurred as a result of political interference.
The federal cabinet has been summoned to meet Tuesday morning, two hours earlier than usual, after which Morneau will discuss which of the three options the government has decided on.
Kinder Morgan gave Ottawa until Thursday to convince it to proceed by settling down jittery investors who fear a court challenge from the B.C. government that would make the project too great a liability.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister is staying mum about talks happening behind closed doors.
The PM is sticking with his message of reassurance, even though there is no deal with Kinder Morgan yet ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
“We’re continuing to work on multiple levels to ensure that projects that are in national interest like the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion get built,” says Trudeau.
“[We] continue to engage in financial discussions on the way we’re going to do it. And when we have something to announce you can be sure we will announce it.”
The government is also lobbying hard in the United States this week since President Donald Trump only exempted Canada and Mexico from steel import tariffs until Friday.
Losing either of these issues would be big problems for Trudeau’s government as it starts to move into election-year planning to seek a second mandate.
