Roundup: Trans Mountain decision day?

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It looks like today will be the day we get some kind of answer on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion pipeline, and everything will likely be confirmed in the morning as Cabinet meets earlier than usual. The three options on the table are the previously announced indemnification, as well as the option to either buy the pipeline outright (though I’m not sure if that means just the expansion or the original pipeline itself that the expansion twins) in order to sell it once the expansion completes construction, or temporarily buying it long enough to sell it to someone else who will complete construction. The word from Bloomberg’s sources is that the government is likely to buy it outright, on the likely option of buying it long enough to find someone who can guarantee its completion.

https://twitter.com/InklessPW/status/1001288600967827456

As for what this will mean politically, you can bet that there will be no end to the howls of outrage from both opposition parties – from the Conservatives, we’ll hear that this never should have happened, and it’s only because of the federal government’s incompetence that it did. (While one can certainly question their competence in a number of areas, this is one where they had few good options, and no, a court reference or a pipeline bill would not have helped because they already have the necessary jurisdiction they need). The NDP, meanwhile, will howl that this is a betrayal of their promises on the environment and the rights of First Nations, and that it pays billions to “Texas billionaires” rather than Canadians, and so on (though one would imagine that the NDP should be all for nationalizing infrastructure projects). And one can scarcely imagine the invective we’ll hear from Jason Kenney, as helpful as that will be. Suffice to say, the next few days (and weeks) will likely be even more dramatic that they have been. Because this time of year isn’t crazy enough in Parliament without this.

Good reads:

  • Consternation as it turns out the new Commons in the West Block will be too small to accommodate school groups to watch QP, though there will be some access.
  • The Senate has voted on a number of amendments to the cannabis bill, 29 of which were “technical amendments” brought forward by the government itself.
  • It looks like there will be an announcement about a new sustainability fund geared toward gender diversity in global capital markets at the upcoming G7 meeting.
  • The Auditor General’s report on the Phoenix pay system comes out today, so here’s a deep dive into the culture of avoiding blame in the civil service.
  • The Canadian Transportation Agency has started consultations on the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, but whether we can trust the CTA to enforce it is another story.
  • The CRA disciplines an average of one employee every day for misconduct, the majority of which involve breaching the privacy of individual taxpayers.
  • Canada’s trade agreement with Israel is being modernized, with new chapters around gender, labour, and the environment.
  • The Caesar-Chavannes-Bernier spat continues with another salvo about Bernier not understanding lived experiences, while other Conservatives deny systemic racism.
  • The Conservatives have criticized the government for not arming the Kurds as promised and want those weapons to be sent to Ukraine instead.
  • Elizabeth May pleaded guilty to criminal contempt for her participation in that pipeline protest and paid a $1500 fine.
  • Here’s a look at the Ontario political meme factories Ontario Proud and North99.
  • Here’s an exploration of the anti-elitism that is fuelling the Ontario election.
  • Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column takes her own look at Friday’s meltdown filibuster in the Commons.
  • Philippe Lagassé looks at how Ontario’s Standing Orders limiting confidence votes can affect the post-election situation if there is a minority.
  • Chantal Hébert notes that Andrew Scheer is giving Doug Ford a fairly wide berth during the Ontario election.
  • Andrew Coyne wonders whether the panicked stories about Huawei investing in Canadian 5G research isn’t really just economic nationalism.

Odds and ends:

In this week’s Law Times, I look at workplace restorations that can help return a toxic workplace to a sense of normalcy after a harassment investigation.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are apparently planning to honeymoon in Jasper.

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Trans Mountain decision day?”

  2. Enter Scheer, petulant as usual, sans mini lectern, to blame JT for acquiring a money making asset for Canadians, not once castigating John Horgan for his actions which are damaging to all Canadians. He spent no time explaining that the original pipeline has provided billions in revenue to all Canadians and the expansion will provide hundreds of millions over the next decades. Here is proof once more that the Conservatives have learned nothing except to send out Harper 2.0 to spout 20th century thinking in a rapidly changing 21st century.

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