Can B.C. stop the Trans Mountain Pipeline simply by asking for more studies on bitumen?
Certainly, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley thinks so, and is backstopping her claims with a ban on B.C. wine, cancellation of talks on the purchase of B.C. electricity, creation of a task force to explore the matter and an online tool for Canadians to comment.
There is no doubt the B.C. government wants to slow, if not stop, the pipeline that will triple the capacity of the current system. Like Notley, who is facing her own electorate, Horgan has to at least show that he takes seriously concerns about tankers full of bitumen cruising B.C..’s coast if he wants the BC Green Party to stay the course and numerous British Columbians to back his party if an election is called.
But is this independent review of oil-spill readiness a deal breaker? Surely, a government is within its rights to seek assurances that an oil spill won’t devastate its coast.
Depending on your reading of this initiative, it’s either a full-blown attack on the pipeline project or simply a logical next step for a government that has come late to the file.
