Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be going back to familiar territory on Friday, but it’s unlikely he’ll be getting any rest from discussing Alberta’s issues as he is set to meet with Canada’s big city mayors, including Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi.
The mayors have been meeting in Ottawa for the past few days, seeking clarity on the federal government’s promises of infrastructure funding.
The Liberal government has promised a whopping $60B over the next decade with the first $10B focusing on project maintenance.
It’s unlikely that Trudeau will be able to avoid the issue of pipelines as well, which was the chief talking point of discussions while he was in Edmonton and Calgary this week.
A group of Montreal-area mayors, fronted by former Liberal cabinet minister Denis Coderre, sparked a minor national unity furor last month when they came out against the proposed Energy East pipeline from Alberta to New Brunswick.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has also placed a set of conditions on a westward pipeline route through her province to the Pacific, raising questions about whether there are effectively regional vetoes over national energy infrastructure projects.
Nenshi says politicians are free to voice their opinions -- just as they are on their preference in dinner vegetables or their thoughts on NHL disciplinary suspensions.
But he says ultimately the federal government is responsible for pipeline approvals, based on the best assessment by the National Energy Board.
"Fundamentally this is a federal government responsibility, so those of us at the municipal order of government or provinces can talk about conditions or whatever we want -- ultimately, it's not our say," Nenshi said Thursday.
As for Trudeau’s discussions in the two major Alberta cities, the oil and gas executives say the meeting was positive, but they came out of it without any assurances that pipelines of any sort will be built.
Trudeau, when pressed, was non-commital on the issue.
“I am not going to pre judge or short cut the NEB process as we go forward. It’s important that we have confidence in our regulators, it’s important that we do our job and we’re going to allow them to do their job without political interference.”
The mayors will be meeting with Trudeau on Friday morning in Ottawa, and will be pushing for more answers themselves.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
