Le pétrole fera-t-il éclater l'ordre constitutionnel canadien ?
12 juin 2017
Le bras de fer se corse :
L'éditoriale du Globe and Mail demande à Trudeau d'invoquer la clause déclaratoire si la juridiction du fédérale ne suffit pas à imposer le passage du pipeline de Trans Montain :
Globe editorial: On pipelines, Ottawa must have the final say
The Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Jun. 04, 2017
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And Ottawa has sole jurisdiction over trade and commerce, which is what this is mostly about. Getting the crude from Alberta’s oil sands – or any other Canadian product from any other landlocked part of the country – to coastal waters where it can be loaded onto boats and shipped to foreign markets goes to the heart of Canada’s ability to be a successful trader.
On top of all that, there is a clause in the Constitution that gives Ottawa jurisdiction over projects that are “declared by the Parliament of Canada to be for the general Advantage of Canada.”
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Mr. Trudeau should stick to his guns and see the project through. There is a principle at play. Simply put, one provincial government should not have a veto over Canadian trade because of its geography. This has to be a national decision – and that means the federal government and federal institutions.
As Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said last week, “We can't be a country that says one of its two functional coastlines is only going to do what the people who live right beside it want to do.”
We would go further than that. Provincial parties should not espouse the use of clever delay tactics for the sole purpose of usurping the duly exercised authority of the federal government. Trans Mountain has the law and Parliament behind it. That may not please its opponents, but their displeasure doesn’t give them the power to undermine a valid federal decision.
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/globe-editorial-on-pipelines-ottawa-must-have-the-final-say/article35194176/
