The Trans Mountain debacle is not a market failure. It is a political failure—and now our politicians are trying to buy their way out of the very mess they created in the first place
Nationalizing the Trans Mountain pipeline is a terrible idea
When Kinder Morgan announced on Apr. 8 that it was suspending all non-essential spending on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley immediately floated the idea of the Alberta government buying an equity stake in the pipeline. Even her political opponent, United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney, agreed, arguing that a “market failure” justified the use of putting taxpayer money into the project.
Notley soon went further, suggesting that she was prepared to have the province buy the project outright, while the federal government also got into the act by emphasizing the need to “de-risk” Kinder Morgan investors.