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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Trudeau government to buy Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain for $4.5-billion
The government is saying the move is necessary to ensure the additional oil pipeline capacity gets built and makes sure work can resume. The purchase price doesn’t include construction costs so the final bill to Canadian taxpayers will be significantly higher – the pipeline expansion has an estimated pricetag of $7.4-billion. The Liberal government says it doesn’t intend to be a long-term owner of the project and plans to seek a buyer. Summer construction will proceed despite a court battle over whether British Columbia . has the authority to limit oil shipments through its jurisdiction.
Campbell Clark argues that Finance Minister Bill Morneau signing the agreement to buy the pipeline project is a political risk and puts Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government on the line.
Mr. Trudeau is now all-in on oil sands expansion, Konrad Yakabuski writes. He argues that this moment will define Mr. Trudeau’s first term as Prime Minister, both in the eyes of Canadian voters and the world.
Jeff Rubin, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, says Mr. Morneau had better options for Canada’s energy sector than the Trans Mountain pipeline, such as an investment in the Washington State refineries that process most of the crude it carries.
Here’s a guide on what Ottawa’s purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline project means and the big questions that still remain.
Get caught up on the feud between Kinder Morgan, B.C., Alberta and the Trudeau government. We look at what the pipeline is, where it may go and what is at stake.
The pipeline expansion would bring billions in new revenue, but it would mean an increase in coast-to-port tanker traffic and with that, the risk of more oil spills. We follow a tanker as it threads the needle from Burnaby to the open ocean.
Phoenix pay system an ‘incomprehensible failure,’ Auditor-General says
Auditor-General Michael Ferguson said the implementation of the pay system was an “incomprehensible failure” and a symptom of a larger cultural problem in the federal government. In a report tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday, he said it is a “wake-up call” and “needs to reflect on how much government culture stands in the way of achieving truly successful results for people.” The Phoenix fiasco has failed to properly pay tens of thousands of public servants on time, costing Canadian taxpayers more than $1-billion since its 2016 launch.
Scheer won’t vote in Ontario election nor campaign with Doug Ford, his office says
Federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer grew up in Ottawa and now lives in Stornoway, the residence in Ottawa of the Leader of the Official Opposition, but he has represented a riding in Saskatchewan since 2004 and for that reason won’t be voting in the Ontario election. Mr. Scheer had previously planned to attend at least one campaign event with provincial Conservative leader Doug Ford when Mr. Ford was riding high in the polls last month. But now, a little more than a week before the election, an aide says Mr. Scheer currently has no plans to help out on Mr. Ford’s campaign due to scheduling conflicts.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in Port Colborne, Ont., on Tuesday, Mr. Ford was asked repeatedly when he would lay out how he intends to fund the billions in promises he has made during the provincial campaign. The PC leader would only say that his platform would be presented before the June 7 vote.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index fell on Tuesday as a drop in financial stocks countered rising energy stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.58 per cent to 15,922.61.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted their biggest one-day percentage drops in a month as investors worried about political turmoil in Italy and the stability of the euro zone. The Dow average fell 1.58 per cent to 24,361.45, the S&P 500 lost 1.16 per cent to 2,689.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5 per cent to 7,396.59.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
ABC has cancelled its reboot of Roseanne following the sitcom’s star, Roseanne Bar,r posted a racist comment on Twitter about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
TALKING POINTS
Italian debt crisis places Merkel in the hot seat once again
“Will she or won’t she? That’s the question that anyone who cares about the future of Europe is asking as the Italian debt crisis threatens to return with a vengeance, if it has not returned already. Will German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the protector-in-chief of the euro zone and the effective boss of Europe, find a way to defuse the Italian crisis?” – Eric Reguly
Why must we limit public access to the people’s Parliament?
“These restrictions also suggest a less-than-complete dedication to ensuring public access to Parliament. In a time when people feel increasingly disconnected from government and public institutions, closing House and Senate business to the public is the last thing we need.” – John Ibbitson
WHAT SAY YOU
A sample of what Globe readers are talking about
Here’s what readers are saying about the Trudeau government buying the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5-billion.
So we went from a fully funded project via private enterprise to a nationalized one where we assume all the risks. The Liberals handled this project terribly. Make B.C. responsible for all the delays and fire Morneau already. – Klens75
Interesting comments and I see I am with the majority of my fellow Canadians. Every person opposing the pipeline, indigenous and non-indigenous benefits from oil. I support the transition we are going through to use less oil and it will happen, but it cannot happen overnight. I supported the East Coast pipeline “through my backyard” because I use oil every day and benefit from it. I am looking to go electric with my next car but I am not there yet. A decision had to be made and the government took it. I support it. – HOWG
LIVING BETTER
Now that the warmer weather is here, if you are looking to refresh your closet with some snazzy items, The Globe’s fashion editor Odessa Paloma Parker suggests khaki. While the word “khaki” potentially conjures up images of prim trousers meant for the college set, today’s takes on the look are chilled-out, more design-savvy and hip. She says you want to look for unique details and interesting fabrics that lend some singularity.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
For low-income residents in Vancouver, a different kind of real estate crisis
Shelly Ingram says she never gets used to the sound of mice falling through the gaping hole in her bathroom ceiling and landing with a thump on her empty bathtub. Bathrooms aren’t the only problem at the Regent, a single-room occupancy (SRO) hotel on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside owned by the Sahota family, three reclusive, elderly siblings who own and operate some of the city’s most derelict housing. Bedbugs and rats are constant concerns. In some rooms, walls are damp to the touch, hinting at leaks behind them. While officials have issued fines and court injunctions to force necessary repairs, a steady stream of violations continues, and as Wendy Stueck and Mike Hager report, it’s unlikely the citations will change much.
Lack of funding forces Canada to abort mission on NASA telescope project
The decision to abandon the plans in a project that Canadian astronomers say is a top priority in the coming decade delivers a galaxy-sized blow to a sector already reeling from a federal budget that was notably silent on space. Canada was to provide an instrument that would play a critical role in fulfilling the telescope’s quest to discern the nature of dark energy, a mysterious phenomenon that is thought to be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. Canada had already spent $3.1-million in concept studies and technology related to the instrument.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley, Kristene Quan and Omair Quadri. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.