While the federal government’s $4.5 billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline and its related infrastructure is an extraordinary measure, the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce and BC Chamber said it is pleased to see the project move forward.
“It’s long-overdue good news that Canada will get its resources to tidewater and stop selling to a single customer – but the fact that our federal government had to step in proves there’s still deep uncertainty around investing in Canada,” said Val Litwin, president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce.
“Our nation must take a hard look at itself: The regulatory regime in Canada is broken.”
“The Mission Chamber shares the sentiment of our B.C. counterparts. While extraordinary measures were necessary to bring certainty and stability, this doesn’t fix the fundamental issue at hand,” said Andrea Walker, president of the Mission Chamber.
“Our western provinces need to be committed to working together for Canada, and I hope that the current relationship between B.C. and Alberta can be quickly stabilized and that we can avoid discourse such as this in the future.”
A chamber media release stated: “The extraordinary measures by the federal government prove that Canada’s regulatory system needs an overhaul. Once a project is federally approved, it should not fall prey to stall tactics from opponents.”
The BC Chamber has maintained that the Trans Mountain project is about more than a pipeline; it’s about rule of law, and provincial and national branding as a worthy place to invest.
