Pipeline mania is distracting from what the talks between Ottawa and Alberta could actually achieve

analysis

A pipeline to B.C.’s northern coast has become the perceived centrepiece of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s negotiations with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reset federal-provincial relations.

The pipeline discourse has gotten away from Mark Carney .

What began as a new Prime Minister simply opening the door to new oil infrastructure – seemingly an attempt to avoid being accused, as his predecessor was, of standing in the way of Western Canadian ambitions – has taken on a life of its own.

Despite nobody yet proposing to build it, and uncertain demand even from the fossil-fuel industry, a pipeline to British Columbia’s northern coast has become the perceived centrepiece of Mr. Carney’s negotiations with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reset federal-provincial relations.