Energy, economy, land rights face Trudeau as House of Commons returns

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2020 (2445 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returns to a House of Commons eager to debate his government’s policies on the economy, energy, climate change and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples after a week away.

The NDP is asking Commons Speaker Anthony Rota for an emergency debate on anti-pipeline blockades that have shut down swaths of the country’s train system and interrupted traffic on highways and bridges for more than a week.

The blockades are in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline that crosses the First Nation’s traditional territory in northern British Columbia.

Trudeau’s cabinet also has to decide whether to approve a major new oilsands mine called the Teck Frontier project, which a couple of weeks ago seemed to be the government’s biggest headache.

The mine would emit megatonnes of climate-changing greenhouse-gas emissions over its lifespan, but Alberta Premier Jason Kenney warns that nixing it would raise “roiling western alienation to a boiling point.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.

Sign up for Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to the CASL agreement.

A decision on the Teck Frontier project is due by the end of the month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2020.