Moe ‘disappointed’ by Trans Mountain, NAFTA talk delays

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe couldn’t hide his displeasure in seeing the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion hit another delay.

On Thursday, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the federal government’s approval of the controversial pipeline expansion, citing a flawed review from the National Energy Board and a failure to properly consult Indigenous groups.

Speaking with reporters ahead of the Saskatchewan Party’s annual golf tournament at The Willows in Saskatoon, Moe took time to voice his concerns and urge the government to get the pipeline done quickly.

“We’re disappointed with the ruling that we have this morning from the federal court with respect to the Trans Mountain pipeline,” Moe said.

“It’s at this point we would encourage the federal government to use all of the tools at their disposal to ensure that this nation-building project, this ever-so-important project can start and continue construction to its completion.”

Moe didn’t stop there, hoping Ottawa would fast track any dispute to see the project avoid more delays.

“We would encourage the federal government to launch an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada at the first opportunity,” he said.

He also asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his colleagues to look at any legislative avenues to see the project continue with construction.

Moe said any delay in construction will continue Saskatchewan’s oil differential, costing the province’s energy sector “a couple billion dollars each and every year.”

“We would like to see this project start construction as soon as possible, see it through to fruition so that we can access other markets with our western Canadian oil and provide the opportunity to narrow that price differential that Saskatchewan is experiencing at the moment,” he said.

Trudeau had a teleconference with each province’s Premier Thursday. Moe would not elaborate on what took place during that call.

NAFTA talks also top of mind

As negotiations to join a modified North American Free Trade (NAFTA) deal with Mexico and the United States enters its final hours, Moe tempered his expectations ahead of Friday’s American imposed deadline.

“We would like to see a NAFTA agreement sooner rather than later,” he said.

“(Saskatchewan) exports about 55 per cent of our goods, or more in some years, to the U.S. We also import about 80 per cent of our goods to the United States, so we are a friendly and fair trading partner from our provincial perspective.”