Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to visit Edmonton on Wednesday, less than a week after a Federal Court of Appeal ruling halted the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, CBC News has learned.
It’s not known if Trudeau will meet with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.
The premier’s office said Tuesday it has heard Trudeau will be in Edmonton but staff were so far unaware of the prime minister’s schedule.
Hours after Thursday’s court ruling, Notley told a news conference that Alberta will not be a party to the pan-Canadian climate-change framework until construction of the pipeline restarts.
In a terse rebuke of the federal government’s handling of the project review process, Notley called on the prime minister to recall Parliament for an emergency session to deal with the uncertainty over the pipeline project.
She also called on the federal government to immediately appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Notley said of the federal climate-change framework: “And let’s be clear, without Alberta that plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
While the prime minister and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have said the federal government continues to strongly support the pipeline project, Trudeau has not responded to Notley’s plea to recall Parliament, and has not asked Canada’s highest court to review the ruling.
Edmonton MP Amarjeet Sohi said Alberta’s withdrawal from the national climate-change strategy may hurt the pipeline in the long run.
In an interview Friday with CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM, Sohi said the courts have made it clear that an effective climate strategy is critical for the approval of major natural resources projects under federal jurisdiction.
“In order to build a large project such as a pipeline, you need to have a very effective climate action plan, and you need to be mindful of your obligations to consult Indigenous peoples,” Sohi said.
“Without those, you will not get a pipeline built.”