Edmonton, AB: After just four days in the Alberta Legislature as a united party, the UCP successfully pressured the NDP government to step up and fight to get shovels in the ground on Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline project.
On Monday, outgoing United Conservative MLA Dave Rodney used his final question in the Legislative Assembly to ask the NDP why their government hasn’t done more to stand up for Alberta against those who block our exports, particularly the City of Burnaby, which is refusing to issue municipal permits for construction of the TransMountain pipeline:
“The city of Burnaby, B.C., is currently dragging its feet on issuing municipal permits for the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline, clearly overstepping their jurisdiction. Kinder Morgan has asked that the National Energy Board intervene. Will the Premier join this chorus and demand that the federal regulator intervene to ensure the construction of the pipeline?” Dave Rodney, UCP MLA, October 30, 2017
After much delay, the NDP took the UCP’s common-sense advice and registered as an official intervenor with the National Energy Board.
“Even though the NDP blocked our earlier attempt to have the government stand up to the National Energy Board’s violation of provincial jurisdiction, we’re pleased to see the NDP follow our common-sense solutions, albeit reluctantly,” said Official Opposition Leader Jason Nixon. “Still, this is a perfect example of what can be achieved now that Alberta’s Conservatives are united and focused on holding the NDP to account. It comes as no surprise that our united caucus team is already having a major impact on the business of government.”
The NDP’s about-face comes just days after they rejected the UCP’s request to debate a motion that would have seen the Government of Alberta demand the Trudeau Liberals amend the National Energy Board Act to exclude upstream and downstream emissions in the pipeline approval process.
“Despite this victory, there is still much more this NDP government can and should be doing to defend Alberta’s interests when it comes to securing market access for our exports,” said Nixon. “The UCP will be relentless in our fight to make sure the NDP is serving Albertans, not their pipeline-blocking friends in B.C. or their Liberal allies in Ottawa.”