Imagine walking into a used car dealership. The dealer offers you a car, but he’s not quite sure if the car runs or not. While it’s in the garage to see if it does, you agree on a price. However, in the event it does run, the dealer can choose not to sell it to you. If it doesn’t run, you can’t back out and the dealer goes ahead with the sale.
Even the most dimwitted buyer wouldn’t agree to those terms, yet that’s exactly the position the Federal Government seemed to have been in on the Transmountain Pipeline.
It seems the Federal Government and Kinder Morgan agreed on a price months ago when the outcome was uncertain, but left Kinder Morgan the final decision after the details were in.
If the project got the okay from the Supreme Court, they were apparently free to hold on to it and reap the profits. If, as it turned out, the Supreme Court ruled against it, taxpayers would be left paying the price for a project the future of which looks uncertain.
The ruling could still be challenged in court or the government could go back and do more assessments and consultations. However, even if the project does go ahead at some point, there’ll long and costly delays.
Yes, the deal left Canadian taxpayers holding a boondoggle of a project. Yes, it vindicated First Nations’ rights. Yes, the National Energy Board didn’t do its job right. Yes, it’s a good day for environmentalists. And, yes, it probably hurts Canada’s reputation as an investment destination.
Most of all, it’s clear, Canadians can’t trust Trudeau’s team to buy a “used car.”
– Black Press
