The Federal Government is buying the Trans Mountain Pipeline and the core assets of Kinder Morgan Canada for $4.5 billion. Kinder Morgan says it will now twin the pipeline through British Columbia despite that province’s opposition. Finance Minister Bill Morneau says Canada will continue the construction once the sale is complete, likely in August. The plan then is to sell the pipeline once market conditions allow for the best price. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Aaron Wudrick says, “This decision represents both a colossal failure of the Trudeau government to enforce the law of the land, and a massive, unnecessary financial burden on Canadian taxpayers.” The federation says that this sets a terrible precedent and signals to other prospective investors that large projects such as pipelines cannot be built by private industry in Canada. Worst of all, the federation says, “cost and risk of a $7 billion project that was going to be willingly financed entirely by a private company will now be unnecessarily transferred onto the backs of Canadian taxpayers.”

[GW/Candian Press]