Quote:
Originally Posted by para transit fellow
Perhaps it might be wise to learn from mistakes of the recent Keystone pipeline fiasco. Seems like the proven Alberta negotiation technique of "make them an offer then expropriate if they blink.." didn't go over very well in regions.
the lesson I glean from this?
Just because you can expropriate Alberta surface rights to build oil facilities... doesn't mean the same technique will go over well in places like Nebraska or eastern Canada where freehold rights are very common and property rights are very dear to the heart of the residents.
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/the-...-pipeline-war/ |
Land in Alberta is supposed to be negotiated amongst landowner and company based on area average prices. If a company doesn't provide adequate compensation or a landowner demands ludicrous sums of money that don't appear to be market, then the Surface Rights Board can and will enforce what fair compensation should look like. Similarly, they also can provide a Right of Entry order, which for some reason you're citing as expropriation- but it isn't. What the ROE is, however, is allowing access so that a company can win take and remove the resource that is beneath the landowners land in order for the public's benefit (or so the theory goes).
So, really, the view is that one landowner can't stomp their feet and prevent the production and sale of a product that is needed for the benefit of all of society. It is not expropriation, rather the forcing of a lease of land (ie. landowner still retains ownership). There are also rules of engagement applied for the company to abide by.
Pipelines that cross provinces are the jurisdiction of the federal government. The NEB is the regulatory body tasked with accommodating an open and fair process for all opinions and viewpoints, and then they're job is to make a recommendation to the ministers. The problem and what has sparked some of these protests is the fact that the NEB had key members meeting with Transcanada and creating a massive conflict of interest, which has totally crippled the NEB's good standing in Quebec and areas where this pipeline is a huge political hot potato. The NEB tried to reset the process the PC's had started under Trudeau angling as some kind of 'more open' forum for opinions, dialogue, etc. to generate social licence but at the end of the day, they've shot themselves in the foot by having a very clear conflict of interest.
So now the NEB, and this pipeline, are in big trouble.
However- all of the above said, the fact of the matter is that in times of national importance like this pipeline, a federal government must act like a federal government, even if it's inconvenient or unpopular- because it is in the best interest of the nation. Jason Kenney points out that the railroad was built under similar circumstances and he's right, but what he leaves out is the fact that that railway didn't come free and had arguably much more massive implications. The race west was about capturing land and moving people, raw materials and 'setting up shop' across a gigantic land mass and in a very hurried race against the United States to capture territory and establish borders. The Canadian government ended up doing deals with western provinces in the form of land and other payments to get all the provinces on board.
So in saying the above, why doesn't the federal government offer the provinces that are so anti-pipeline something for their grievances? Getting deals done is quid pro quo, not just forcing #### through. Why not market the holy hell out of this pipeline if you know it's the right thing to do? Maybe the Liberals and Trudeau don't think it's the right thing to do. I look at how Australia handled their gun buy-back legislation and commitments. That move was highly unpopular with Australia's right wing. Australia's prime minister was getting harassed at near-violent protests and gave speeches to explain the purpose. He wore a bullet proof vest to some of these!
If it's the best thing for Canada, Trudeau needs to establish his legacy now, unless he truly doesn't believe it.