Dear Joanna,
I’m emailing you today because you have previously written to me regarding Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline expansion.
As I am sure you have heard, there have been significant developments in the fight against this pipeline in recent days.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would spend $4.5 billion in taxpayers’ money to acquire all of Kinder Morgan’s assets relating to the existing TransMountain project. That means that the Government of Canada will own the original pre-existing pipeline and infrastructure related to it, the port terminal where the raw bitumen is loaded onto tankers, and all work that has already been done on the pipeline expansion.
The $4.5 billion figure does not include the cost of completing construction on the pipeline expansion, estimated to be over $6 billion more. This debacle could end up costing taxpayers over $10 billion by the time the work is completed.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. It does not factor in the costs of cleanup if there is a catastrophic spill along the BC coast, nor the resulting damage that will be done to BC’s economy. It does not factor in the increased costs that will be required to deal with the impacts of climate change, both in Canada and globally, as a result of the federal government’s inability to meet its greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction targets.
It is astonishing that the Prime Minister can find billions to purchase and build a risky diluted-bitumen pipeline but leads a government that has failed seniors who are subsisting on meagre pensions, are living in poverty, and who cannot afford their prescription medications. Veterans and their families are in desperate need of support, but their services have been consistently underfunded. Families across the country cannot afford the astronomical price of childcare and the federal government refuses to step in to provide relief. Our healthcare system is buckling under the weight of underfunding, and we have a housing crisis in many parts of the country.
These billions of dollars would all have gone a long way towards improving the daily life of every Canadian in a very tangible way, but the Prime Minister decided to bail out a Texas oil company instead. He could even have used this money to take a meaningful step towards the just transition of Alberta energy jobs towards a clean energy future for the thousands of workers who depend on them.
On top of all this, the company that the government is purchasing the pipeline from, Kinder Morgan Canada, has avoided paying its fair share of taxes. Over the past three years, Kinder Morgan has avoided paying over $180 million in taxes, and they are now being bailed out to the tune of billions. Additionally, the company only paid $550 million for the existing pipeline when they bought it in 2007. Now, they’ve flipped it for $4.5 billion, while the expansion work is facing protests and multiple court challenges.
The Prime Minister has no vision for the future, especially in the context of climate change. Canada needs to be investing in clean energy jobs and building an economy that works for the next generation. We should be tackling our greenhouse gas emissions and taking firm action to address climate change. In 2015, the Prime Minister promised to end the billions in subsidies paid out annually to oil companies and he signed on to the Paris Climate Accord. Now, his government owns a diluted-bitumen exporting pipeline that will result in millions more tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Prime Minister Trudeau promised to be a leader on climate change, but climate change leaders don’t spend billions on pipeline infrastructure projects that belong in the 20th century. We need a government with a vision that takes Canada’s 21st century future seriously.
The risks posed by the TransMountain project are unacceptable, and I will continue to oppose this pipeline expansion. Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Alistair MacGregor, Member of Parliament
Cowichan-Malahat-Langford
Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food
