My friend and colleague Chris Oldcorn had a great point a few days ago when he wrote, "British Columbia Premier David Eby says he’s not onside with a new pipeline across the North. He doesn’t have to be. Under Canada’s Constitution, pipelines that cross boundaries fall under federal jurisdiction. That’s not a talking point. It’s the law.".Oldcorn, who seems to be doing a great job handling the opinion pages since I retired, has more to say as my guest tonight on Hannaford.He bangs home the point that faced with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s push for a new pipeline to the West Coast, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson seems unwilling to uphold that same constitutional clarity. Hodgson’s response was a shrug — telling Alberta to “get the support of the jurisdiction you build through.”.OLDCORN: Eby can’t veto a nation-building pipeline.He bangs home the point that faced with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s push for a new pipeline to the West Coast, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson seems unwilling to uphold that same constitutional clarity. Hodgson’s response was a shrug — telling Alberta to “get the support of the jurisdiction you build through.”.In other words, he’s asking Smith to secure Premier David Eby’s blessing for something Eby has no authority to veto.That is, when Canada’s Constitution assigns responsibility for interprovincial pipelines to Ottawa, it’s supposed to mean something. Section 92(10) of the Constitution Act is crystal clear: when a pipeline crosses provincial boundaries, it falls under federal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court confirmed this in 2020 when it struck down British Columbia’s attempt to block the Trans Mountain expansion through environmental regulations.It’s a remarkable abdication of duty. When Ottawa wants to stop a project— Northern Gateway, Energy East, or any number of other proposals — it eagerly asserts control. But when leadership and constitutional backbone are needed to advance a nation-building project, suddenly the federal government retreats into the shadows, pretending the provinces can sort it out themselves..This is no idle matter: the constitutional and economic stakes are high. If the federal government won’t exercise its lawful authority to build interprovincial infrastructure, Canada remains landlocked, dependent, and divided.The test isn’t whether Alberta can persuade British Columbia. It’s whether Ottawa still remembers how to act like a country.Get the whole story on Hannaford, tonight, at 7:00 pm.
