A little peeved would be an understatement when describing the mood of Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond on today`s Kinder Morgan announcement from Ottawa.
The Justin Trudeau government made the decision to purchase the Trans Mountain Pipeline and its related infrastructure at a cost of $4.5 billion dollars.
Bond says this is one of those rare days where she is embarrassed to be a BC resident
She believes the behavior of Premier John Horgan is mostly to blame.
“This gave British Columbia the opportunity to have a private sector project paid for by the private sector – what could have been a private sector project generating 15,000 construction jobs is instead going to be paid for by taxpayers.”
Premier Horgan addressed the media in Victoria following Bond’s interview with My Prince George Now.
His concerns surrounding a possible bitumen spill on BC`s coastline remains despite Ottawa’s decision to take sole ownership of the project.
“I will continue to do my best to protect BC’s interest by ensuring our coast, our water, and our land is kept pristine so that our economy can continue to grow.”
When asked if he is the primary reason the federal government shelled out the additional money – Horgan shook his and said no.
“I made no such undertaking of tax dollars, quite the contrary and the accountability of those decisions should rest with the people who made them and that is the federal government and the province of Alberta.”
Horgan also claims his relationship with Prime Minister Trudeau remains in good shape, despite this ongoing squabble.
“It’s never been a personal issue with between him and me, he has a responsibility as the leader of the Government of Canada and I have a responsibility in BC, we have always worked well on a variety of issues and this is just one where we disagree.”
The local reaction to the pipeline has continued to swarm in with a statement from the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
“After months of uncertainty, it is encouraging to see that this project will be moving forward,
ensuring our members have the opportunity to bid on contracting opportunities on a project
that will bring Canadian resources to market,” said Todd Corrigall, CEO, Prince George Chamber
of Commerce.
“The obstructionist tactics from the Government of BC have put the Country in a
the position where we are now holding the bucket on what should be a private industry project.”
“When Government issues unbudgeted taxpayers dollars to fund projects, or to fight pointless
legal battles, the question becomes where is the funding coming from?” said Lorna Wendling,
President of the Board, Prince George Chamber of Commerce. “Businesses have been impacted
by new taxes and fees, bringing new challenges to operations. It is our hope that Provincial
The government will drop its legal challenge to the Kinder Morgan project and stop wasting
taxpayers dollars.”