Insurance policy for pipeline is result of ‘exceptional situation,’ says Trudeau
NEW YORK — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says putting federal cash down as an insurance policy of sorts to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built is the result of an “exceptional” political situation.
Speaking in New York City a day after his government announced it would compensate Kinder Morgan for any delays in construction caused by political problems, Trudeau said he has every confidence the pipeline will proceed.
“What we have proposed in our finance minister’s proposal yesterday is to remove some of the risk by providing a sort of insurance policy for this particular context of political risk,” Trudeau said. “It’s very much an exceptional situation.”
Kinder Morgan halted non-essential spending on the project in April because of pending legal questions by the government of British Columbia, and the federal government now has just two more weeks to come to an agreement with the company before its May 31 deadline.