To the editor,
The next several weeks will be very important for Canada.
Two political parties that are likely to form the government of the province have committed in writing to use every means at their disposal once in government to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This project involves the twinning of an existing pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby. This project has gone through the necessary National Energy Board process and was approved. With the election of a new government in Ottawa, the project was put through an additional process and approval provided again.
The construction and operation of interprovincial pipelines comes under federal jurisdiction, according to the constitution of Canada.
The prime minister must not just mouth that this project is under federal jurisdiction, but loudly proclaim it. He needs to initiate a full-court press to make it clear to B.C. that this is a project that is in the national interest and that it must and will proceed and that the province should cease and desist from any action injurious to the project.
This is important in its own right but it is also very important for the future. We all know about precedents and how in later day jurisprudence, courts are looking more and more to what has happened recently to guide them in interpretation of laws and the constitution. Many judges these days are not originalists in their interpretation of the constitution but view it as a living, evolving document.
If the federal government is weak or vacillates on this project, it would embolden opponents of such future projects, including other provinces, and render the nation trapped in local, regional disputes that would weaken the very foundation of our federation. It could make court interpretation of any challenges ambiguous and hinder efficient and timely execution of future projects, something that this country does not need in an ever-competitive world.
Brian Peckford, Nanaimo