Not so the announcement of the Conservative government鈥檚 long-awaited decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline. It was more like a kid dropping a note on the front step, knocking on the door and running away.
But that should surprise no one. Although it has been clear from the outset that Prime Minister Stephen Harper favours the Enbridge proposal that would see Alberta oilsands bitumen piped to Kitimat, it has also been clear that the project has created huge opposition. Reluctant at the best of times to confront the media, Harper was AWOL for Tuesday鈥檚 announcement that the project has his government鈥檚 approval to proceed to the next step.
It was a low-key announcement. It came in the form of a prepared statement released by Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford and it wasn鈥檛 exactly worded as approval for the project:
鈥淚n December 2013, the Joint Review Panel found that construction and operation of the Northern Gateway Pipelines project is in the public interest, subject to 209 conditions being met by the proponent. After carefully reviewing the report, the government accepts the independent panel鈥檚 recommendation to impose 209 conditions on Northern Gateway Pipelines鈥� proposal.鈥�
With the back-door approach to announcing the government鈥檚 decision, the Conservatives have every appearance of stepping carefully through a political minefield, and rightly so. The Conservatives have 21 MPs in sa国际传媒, where the project is highly unpopular and is likely to be front and centre in the campaign leading up to the 2015 federal election. Political fortunes have tumbled on lesser issues.
Opponents of the project had called on Harper to reject it, knowing full well he wouldn鈥檛. Nevertheless, the government鈥檚 green light does not guarantee the project will be completed. As Rickford鈥檚 statement says, the government鈥檚 approval only 鈥渃onstitutes another step in the process.鈥�
And that process promises to be protracted and difficult. Among the 209 conditions are many that involve consultations with aboriginal peoples who live along the pipeline route. Enbridge claims that about 60 per cent are onside with the project, but hasn鈥檛 specified any. Many First Nations have stated flat opposition to the pipeline, regardless of conditions, and they say they are prepared to conduct protests, blockades and whatever it takes to stop the pipeline.
In addition, the opposition is fierce against the tanker traffic in sa国际传媒 coastal waters that would result from the completion of the pipeline. The legal and political battles will probably last for years.
One legal expert says the feds have the power to push the project through despite all the opposition, but that would create a political firestorm that not even the authoritarian Harper is likely to risk.
Four of Premier Christy Clark鈥檚 five conditions have not been met for the project to gain official sa国际传媒 approval, and while the project comes under federal regulations, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the project to be completed without sa国际传媒鈥檚 co-operation.
Legalities aside, Enbridge and the Conservatives have a moral obligation to work with First Nations and other British Columbians, who see the risks far outweighing potential benefits.
It promises to be a long and costly battle, and the outcome is far from certain. It鈥檚 a polarizing issue, and opposing interests will not be easily reconciled.
It鈥檚 little wonder Tuesday鈥檚 announcement was a duck-and-run affair for the federal Conservatives.
