On May 8, MLI Munk Senior Fellow Dwight Newman appeared before a Senate committee to discuss the constitutional issues around the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline. According to Dr. Newman, “Canada does have the legislative powers do get this project done if there is the will to do so.” He endorsed both Senator Doug Black’s bill declaring Trans Mountain to be in the national interest, and new legislation that would formally assert the federal government’s “paramountcy” in regulating this project.
During questions, Dr. Newman noted that these measures would resolve the current conflict over British Columbia’s opposition to the project, but two outstanding court cases involving Indigenous concerns over insufficient consultation need to be heard and dealt with responsibly by the federal government depending on the outcome.
Dr. Newman is author of the recent MLI paper, Pipelines and the Constitution: Canadian Dreams and Canadian Nightmares.
