So, how do you like your new pipeline?

Public pipeline

Well, Canadians, you now own a pipeline.

With Ottawa's decision this week to swoop in and rescue the stalled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion by buying the pipeline and all of Kinder Morgan Canada's core assets — with a price tag of $4.5 billion dollars — the Trudeau government staked it's political life on getting the pipeline built.

The big issue: what's next? The federal government hopes to find a willing buyer for the pipeline. But if it can't it will spend billions more to build the controversial expansion.

The deal brought some certainty to the Trans Mountain expansion but the problems remain the same. Activists promise unprecedented protests — tomorrow, they plan a national day of action to try to stop the buyout. And the federal court has yet to weigh in on numerous legal challenges.

What do you think? Is buying a pipeline the best use of public funds? Is government the best choice to build one? 

The government says expanding the Trans Mountain line will bring billions in new revenue by allowing access to foreign markets. But it would also mean an increase in coastal tanker traffic and, with that, more risk of oil spills. Is the environmental risk worth the economic payoff?

Nationalizing the pipeline did not end the war with British Columbia. Premier John Horgan says the federal announcement does nothing to reduce the risk of a diluted bitumen spill and his province's legal fight will continue. 

With some First Nations staunchly opposed and taking their cases to court, other First Nations are in favour of the pipeline and wanting a stake. What are the implications for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples?

What about Canada's federal climate plan — how will purchasing the pipeline impact that? Who are the winners and losers now that taxpayers own the Trans Mountain pipeline?