Premier John Horgan must feel as if all the other kids in the playground are ganging up on him. On Wednesday, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau blamed him for Ottawa鈥檚 decision to back the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion with federal dollars, while Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is ready to use her new oil-regulation legislation to 鈥渢urn off the taps鈥� to B.C.
鈥淲e need to deal with the extraordinary risks that have been presented by Premier Horgan,鈥� Morneau said.
Being portrayed as the problem child of Confederation can鈥檛 be much fun, but B.C.鈥檚 premier seems determined to stick to his guns in opposing the pipeline. His counterparts are equally determined to give no ground in their push to get the pipeline built.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing what I said I would do,鈥� Horgan told reporters. 鈥淚鈥檓 not causing any risks.鈥�
That鈥檚 obviously not true. Horgan is doing his best within the law to stall it. That has to cause uncertainty, which creates risk for investors. That鈥檚 why Kinder Morgan has set a deadline of May 31 to decide whether to continue or jump ship.
By backstopping the investors, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 government is trying to take the American company out of the fight, which makes this a purely family spat 鈥� 91原创s against 91原创s.
Regardless of what happens to the pipeline, this battle is feeding bitterness that will last a generation.
