So much for national unity.
For all the talk of standing tall in the face of the American tariff threat, at least one federal leader is disavowing the notion of a united front when it comes to building cross-country energy pipelines from east to west.
Guess which one?
Speaking at a press availability Tuesday, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet once again disavowed any suggestion of allowing the Energy East pipeline to be built across his province.
The irony is that the Energy East is actually already in the ground — it’s an old natural gas pipeline to Montreal that was proposed to be converted into oil serivce by TC Energy but was cancelled in 2017.
In video posted to CPAC, Blanchet complains the pipeline would cause the Canadian dollar to increase — presumably a good economic indicator — causing Quebec’s manufacturers to suffer.
Speaking in en Francais (via Google Translate), Blanchet explains that because virtually all of the oil bought by the US comes from Alberta, the Canadian economy — and dollar — is therefore reliant on Western Canada for growth.
“It would mean we would continue to support artificially in Canadian dollars… with the currency the Canadian resource with the effect of seriously harming the industrial sector of Quebec,” he says.
“Which is more profitable for us? Oil, it is a scam to which we must put an end in the law to buy this elsewhere.”
In either official language, the sentiment is clear.
