By Laine Mitchell (Twitter: @Laine_Mitchell)

Trudeau response to Kinder Morgan pipeline dispute ‘shows a lack of respect for Alberta,’ MP Eglinski says

Feb 14, 2018 | 6:00 AM

Member of Parliament for Yellowhead Jim Eglinski says the prime minister is showing a lack of respect for Alberta by not pushing harder for a planned bitumen pipeline to the West Coast and dismissing British Columbia’s safety concerns.

The pipeline debate continued to escalate this week, with Premier Rachel Notley launching a petition on Tuesday for Albertans to send letters in support of the pipeline to their MPs as B.C. Premier John Horgan and his government continue to try and block the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Eglinski directed criticism not only at Prime Minister Trudeau but also at Premier Horgan, calling his actions a political move that doesn’t have the full interest of his residents in mind.

“We now have a premier of the province of B.C. who is just reacting because of the political situation he is in,” said Eglinski. “He’s trying to show good face with his coalition but it’s wrong. This is pipeline is a Canadian function that is feeding our natural resources to the coastal market, and it has been delayed for too long.”

Referring to the emergency debate called for by the Conservative’s in the House last week but denied, Eglinski said, “The longer they put it off, the more suspicious and more mistrusting I get of the prime minister. It shows a lack of respect for Alberta. He doesn’t have much of a vote in Alberta, he doesn’t care about this. Alberta is not a voting area for him and you see it. You see it in things like this, it’s quite obvious.”

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While Eglinski believed the halting of importing wine from British Columbia for sale in the province’s retail outlets by Premier Notley needed to be done to send a message, he wonders why it had to come to that.

“It never should have gotten to the point where Premier Notley had to put sanctions on B.C. wine. When the Premier of B.C. came out and said he was going to oppose the pipeline, that was the time where the prime minister should have picked up the phone,” said Eglinski.

“He (Trudeau) should have said this is not a provincial matter this is a national matter. The pipeline has been approved by our government, it’s in the interest of all Canadians and back off.”

The Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project would carry oil from Strathcona County, Alberta to terminals in Burnaby, B.C in a 1,150 kilometre pipeline. The line would cross directly through the Yellowhead riding, covering over 400 kilometres.