Pipeline purchase 'a positive financial' investment for Canada's economy: finance minister

Read Story Transcript

The Liberal government is committed to forge ahead withthe purchase of the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, despite Federal Court of Appeal's Thursday decision to stall the project indefinitely.

"The pipeline is a positivefinancial decision," Federal Finance Minister BillMorneautold The Current's guest host, Connie Walker.

Morneau said he's confident that thepipeline, whichhas been operating since 1953, is in "a good financial position to expand into international markets." The minister said this move would offera long-term, sustainable opportunity to strengthen Canada's economy.

"The current situation is that 99 per cent of our resources go to the U.S. marketand if there's a day when we know that we can't rely on just one market, it might well be today, when we're in an intensive phase of negotiating NAFTA."

• CBCNews: Pipeline ruling strikes 'devastating' blow to Canada'sreputation, energy sector warns
• CBC News:Ruling shows where Ottawa fell short with First Nations on Trans Mountain

Morneaupointed to a "flawed" consultation process for reviewing the pipeline project that he said the Liberals inherited from the Harper government.

"We put in place a new process. The court has said that they believe that we need to to reconsider the engagement of Indigenous Canadians," Morneau told Walker, adding that the government will be analyzing the 275-page court decision so furtherconsultations withIndigenous groups will bemeaningful.

Consultations moving ahead will also include a focus on the economy and the environment, Morneau said.

"We have to do that. This is why the federal government is in this project," Morneau told Walker.

When theFederal Court of Appeal nullifiedlicensing for the 1,150-km pipeline project, it citedinadequate consultations with Indigenous peoples as one of the reasons for its decision. Immediately after the court decision, Kinder Morgan shareholders approved the sale of the pipeline to the government.

Some Indigenous groupsand environmentalists inB.C.are celebrating the ruling, but Alberta's premier is not. Until construction begins for the expansion, Rachel Notley has pulled the province out of the pan-Canadian climate framework negotiated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the provinces. She calls the ruling a threat to the economic security of Canada.

ChiefHarvey McLeod of Upper Nicola, one of the First Nations that successfully sued the federal government over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, says consultations were a long, drawn-out process that resulted in a lot of frustration.

"The process was designed for us to have dialogue with a group of very good people, but they came to the table with no authorities or no decision-making powers," he explained.

"As a result of that, a lot of the concerns and issues that Upper Nicola had were not heard before that decision was made to approve the project."

For the citizens of Upper Nicola who live alongside the pipelines,McLeodsaid there is a feeling of "being held hostage." He added other sides in this process feel the same way.

In a statement released Thursday, Kinder Morgan Canada's president Ian Anderson said the company remains committed to building the project in "consideration of communities and the environment, with meaningful consultation with Indigenous Peoples and for the benefit of Canadians."

• The Current: Indigenous leader calls on the government to accept Trans Mountain court decision
• CBC News:Alberta Indigenous leaders call for improved consultation after Trans Mountain ruling

Chief McLeodsaid he seeslistening as the only way to move forward in pipeline discussions.

"We're looking for a way on how we can get ... along together, because for the last century we've been having this discussion: How do we coexist in this country?" he told Walker.

"We've been, a lot of the times,put aside, and we have to go to the courts to get somespace to allow all of us to come together and have serious discussions to ensure that when we make decisions, we're being heard."

Listen to the full discussion near the top of this page.

Written by Lisa Ayuso, with files from CBC News. Produced by The Current's Julie Crysler,John Chipman and Danielle Carr.