Saskatchewan Premier refuses to apologize for pipeline comments
'I will not apologize. We will not apologize,' said Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall
The City of Burnaby is demanding Saskatchewan's Attorney General Don Morgan retract comments made in a press release accusing the B.C. city of impeding Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline.
"Saskatchewan has consistently taken the position that once an interprovincial pipeline has been approved by the federal government, provinces and municipalities should not be able to interfere," Morgan said in the release.
Apology demanded
"The City of Burnaby regulatory process has been applied in good faith, as the evidence will readily show in the Motion before the NEB. We believe you owe the City of Burnaby and its professional staff an apology," reads the letter in part.
In a Twitter video posted Tuesday, outgoing Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall refused to apologize.
"We will never apologize for standing up for the interests of the energy sector," he said. "It's important that we send a strong signal to those working in that energy sector ... the government of Saskatchewan will stand with them."
The <a href="https://twitter.com/CityofBurnaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityofBurnaby</a> is asking for SK to apologize for saying they're unnecessarily delaying fed-approved <a href="https://twitter.com/TransMtn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TransMtn</a> pipeline. We will not. <a href="https://t.co/rayJaXaPOZ">pic.twitter.com/rayJaXaPOZ</a>
—@PremierBradWallSaskatchewan has applied for intervener status in National Energy Board hearings on Trans Mountain.
Notley standing by project
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is also standing by the pipeline project. She is making a stop in Vancouver as part of a speaking tour.
"It's really just a question of making the case to the citizens of B.C. around the benefits of the pipeline, not only to them, but of course to Albertans, and ultimately to all Canadians," Notley told CBC's Power and Politics on Monday.
She will also be making stops in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.
The Vancouver speech carries the highest stakes as the B.C. NDP government, under Premier John Horgan, has vowed to do what it can to stop the Trans Mountain expansion.
Pipeline expansion behind schedule
The project, which is nine months behind schedule, would double the existing pipeline that runs from Edmonton to the Kinder Morgan terminal in Burnaby, B.C.
The City of Burnaby hasn't issued the permits needed to allow pipeline construction to proceed. Kinder Morgan has asked the National Energy Board to intervene.