Bill Morneau outlines Ottawa’s options on Kinder Morgan tube talks Wednesday

Finance Minister Bill Morneau will give an update on a state of negotiations with Kinder Morgan over a Trans Mountain tube plan Wednesday, setting out in extended strokes what Ottawa is peaceful to do to assistance a plan go ahead, CBC News has learned.

A government official, who spoke to CBC News on condition of anonymity, said Morneau will benefaction a apartment of options to assistance discharge some of a risk a plan is confronting after Kinder Morgan dangling spending on it in a face of opposition from a B.C. government.

Morneau will explain how a due stairs will assistance palliate Kinder Morgan’s concerns, while also ensuring that Canadians aren’t unprotected to extreme financial risk, a central said.

The news conference, scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Ottawa, will be a initial minute refurbish on a efforts to save a argumentative tube enlargement given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Morneau to work with Kinder Morgan to find a trail forward.

It was announced late Tuesday night as Morneau consulted with comparison officials in a Alberta government. Morneau also spoke with Kinder Morgan CEO Steve Kean by phone to tell him what he was going to say.

“There’s still a lot of work left to do,” a central said. “But during slightest we are articulate about a same sorts of things.”

Another comparison supervision central pronounced Morneau would offer a “major update,” but cautioned that talks “are not over by a prolonged shot,” only weeks before a plan hits a intensity dump passed date.

Kinder Morgan has threatened to desert a plan if a transparent trail brazen isn’t reached by May 31. The company’s matter came after a months-long deadlock between a British Columbia and Alberta governments, with B.C. operative to retard a tube for environmental reasons over Alberta’s objections.

The enlargement would add a second tube along an existent tube route to lift diluted bitumen from Alberta to a B.C. seashore for trade on tankers.

Ottawa has betrothed financial and domestic support for a plan to assistance boost a economy and to send a summary that Canada is a good place to invest.

However, other than repeating those open declarations of support, a sovereign supervision has pronounced small about the state of a talks.

But a comparison Alberta supervision official told CBC News late Tuesday that “Kinder Morgan is not creation this easy.”

Much during stake

The official, who spoke to CBC News on condition of anonymity, said there is “a lot to remove right now.”

Morneau’s refurbish comes as a May 31 deadline draws closer — and reduction than 24 hours after a primary apportion gave an shy answer on a state of talks during a revisit to Calgary on Tuesday.

“We continue to work very, really hard, both visibly and behind a scenes,” Trudeau pronounced to reporters.

“When we have something to announce, we guys will be a initial to know.”

The timing of a Morneau refurbish is critical for another reason. With Kinder Morgan shareholders assembly Wednesday in Calgary, it’s an event for Morneau to put open vigour on a company.

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/morneau-kinder-morgan-pipeline-update-1.4664857?cmp=rss