Scheer blames Trans Mountain pipeline situation on lack of leadership in Ottawa

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer spoke in downtown Calgary on Friday at the Calgary Chamber lunch.

Audience members were able to ask the leader of the Official Opposition a question, and they ranged from why he wanted to become the leader of the Conservative Party to his stance on the legalization of marijuana.

The main topic that was discussed, though, was the Trans Mountain pipeline and the hurdles that the project has and continues to face.

Scheer told reporters that the Kinder Morgan problem is the backdrop to a much bigger issue.

“We have to go back to the Northern Gateway project cancellation; we have to talk about Energy East and the fact that the conditions of that were changed in such a way that they were no longer viable. We have to talk about the carbon tax, which is a huge competitive disadvantage,” Scheer said.

One of his main points was that he does not believe the project would be in the position it is had Ottawa stepped in sooner.

Scheer said back at the start of the year, the Conservative Party asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to bring in Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and British Columbia Premier John Horgan to have a sit-down conversation, a conversation which did not happen until just a couple of weeks ago.

“The fact of the matter is, there has been a lack of federal leadership on this issue that has got us here.”

He said his focus is now on letting Albertans know that this would not have happened under Conservative Party leadership and he hopes that it is a situation that can be figured out and fixed.

“I sense the frustration here in Calgary and here in Alberta. It is an emotional response because it is their friends and neighbours who have been affected by this, it is people who have been out of work for months, and they see the government who drags their heels, and it has caused a lot of hardship,” Scheer said.

Scheer added that he believes Trudeau needs to do what is best in the national interest and find a way to work with Kinder Morgan on making the Trans Mountain pipeline go ahead.

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