Alberta demands all party support for pipeline at western premiers’ meeting

By Staff The Canadian Press

WATCH ABOVE: Conservative MP John Barlow and Bernard Hancock, an Albertan employed in the oil and gas industry, spoke at a rally in Ottawa for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

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Alberta is drawing a diplomatic line in the sand at the Western Premiers’ Conference in Yellowknife over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman said she wants the final communique from the meeting to express all-party support for the pipeline project, and says she won’t sign if that doesn’t happen.

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She said other issues being discussed, such as pharmacare, are ultimately moot if Canada can’t agree on measures to produce the wealth needed to pay for such programs.

Leaders from western Canadian provinces and territories are holding a morning meeting on Wednesday in the Northwest Territories capital.

B.C. Premier John Horgan’s government is fighting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would triple the amount of oil flowing from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.

Watch below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday her time is better spent in Edmonton, working on moving forward on Trans Mountain, than at the premiers’ meeting “chastising B.C. Premier John Horgan.”

‘It’s not business as usual’: Rachel Notley explains decision to skip western premiers’ meeting

Alberta says the expansion is critical to the national economy.

The Alberta government has passed legislation that allows it to reduce oil flowing to B.C., which could drive up gas prices and other fuel-related costs.

Watch below: Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh weighs in on the trade dispute between Alberta and B.C.