In my weekly MP reports, I often close with a question related to the subject of the report.
I do this for a number of different reasons, most importantly because I want to know what my constituents think.
On some issues, there may be a strong consensus, however on other issues, there might be vast differences of opinion.
In particular, I find citizens will often convey a perspective that might not be reflected in Ottawa.
One subject that provoked an extremely significant response was related to the Trudeau Liberal government announcing that it would spend $4.5 billion to purchase the Trans-Mountain pipeline project from U.S. based Kinder Morgan.
The intent of this purchase was to spend an additional $ 7.4 billion to build the expanded Trans-Mountain pipeline.
The reaction I heard from this decision that the government spend nearly $12 billion building a pipeline was generally one of outrage, even from those who indicated they supported its construction.
I mention this because the CBC recently reported Kinder Morgan filed documents with the United States Security and Exchange Commission that show constructing the pipeline could increase costs a further $1.9 billion above what was formerly disclosed and take an additional year to construct.
Most troubling is the fact that Canadian journalists did not learn of this new information directly from the Liberal government.
Without the filings from the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission, this information would likely still be hidden from Canadians.
Given that the CBC reports the cost to construct the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline may now top $9.3 billion, with a possible completion date of December 2021, my question this week is a simple one:
- Have your views on the Trans-Mountain pipeline project changed in any way and do you believe the Trudeau Liberal government can reliably manage this project?
I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.