Official Opposition leader Andrew Wilkinson is pleased to see that Premier John Horgan will be meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this weekend to discuss Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline.
“After months of showing no real leadership on the issue, I hope the premier comes to his senses and puts B.C. jobs and prosperity before self-serving politics,” said Wilkinson in a news release. “We now know that his actions to date have been solely focused on scoring political points, rather than standing up for the interests of British Columbians.”
Blaming opposition from the B.C. government, Kinder Morgan announced last week it is rethinking committing to the pipeline and will make a decision by May 31.
“The premier has put affordability and prosperity at risk for middle-class British Columbians,” said Wilkinson. “We could see gas prices skyrocket or federal funds withheld if Alberta and Ottawa decide to enact further sanctions to enforce the rule of law, which this NDP government has ignored.
“John Horgan needs to go to Ottawa, swallow his pride, and accept the lawful solution before this situation develops into an even bigger economic crisis for our province.”
British Columbia has sought an opinion from the courts as to what the province can do about the pipeline, which has prompted a backlash from Alberta and Ottawa.
Horgan issued the following statement regarding Kinder Morgan’s decision to suspend non-essential spending on the Trans Mountain expansion project:
“British Columbians expect their government to stand up for their interests and our coast, and to do everything we can to protect our land and waters, our coastal communities and our local economies.
“The federal process failed to consider B.C.’s interests and the risk to our province. We joined the federal challenge, started by others, to make that point.”
“We believe we need to grow the economy, while protecting the environment. We want to work to address these challenges together. But we will always stand up for British Columbians, our environment and the thousands of jobs that depend on our coast.”
