Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs says the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision to not approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is a devastating blow to Canada and especially Alberta.
The court’s decision announced Thursday states the Government of Canada failed to consult with Indigenous peoples and the National Energy Board’s review was so flawed that the government could not rely on it to approve the expansion.
Stubbs says the Liberals have failed under their own processes for the review.
“The court ruled that they failed to do what they set out to do. The court said their plan was good and their intentions were good, but they absolutely failed to deliver.”
As a result of the court’s decision Premier Rachel Notley announced Alberta will be pulling out of the federal climate plan, which is aimed at lowering the country’s carbon footprint.
“And let’s be clear, without Alberta that plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” said Notley in a press conference Thursday evening.
Alberta is pulling out of the federal climate plan and I’ve called on the federal government to:
âž¡take this to the Supreme Court;
âž¡call an emergency session of Parliament to fix the NEB;
âž¡fix this mess; and
âž¡get construction re-started.#ableg #abpoli pic.twitter.com/3p8kjill9C
— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) August 31, 2018
Stubbs says she is glad to see Notley take a stand, however, more should be done.
“She should be saying that she will scrap the carbon tax completely because no other oil and gas producing jurisdiction on earth is self-imposing carbon taxes on their countries because those added costs put energy and agriculture based communities and countries at a competitive disadvantage.”
Stubbs says the Liberals now have to explain to Canadians what their next steps are to make sure the expansion gets built.