We’ve descended from the simply ridiculous to the absolutely farcical in this endless battle to build an oil pipeline to the West Coast.

How daft has it got? Well, imagine for a moment you’re a constitutional lawyer representing the B.C. government and you inadvertently pick up the wrong case file rushing into court.

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You start arguing against the proposal to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline with its potential cargo of Alberta crude only for a somewhat confused judge to stop you mid-plea, pointing out you’re actually the legal counsel who’s supposed to put the case as to why Alberta should be forced to keep piping its oil down the same darn route.

Yes, were it not for John Horgan’s government over in Lotusland, where else would we look for entertainment these days in Canada? Watching the collective springtime golf tournaments of our various NHL hockey teams, perhaps?

It’s nearly impossible to keep track of these B.C. governmental legal eagles and their various convoluted lawsuits over what are essentially big bits of pipe. One day they want to stop construction of a new one, then, by the time the sun’s risen again, they’re marching off to another courtroom, fighting on behalf of the one they’ve already got.

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And the best chuckle of all is that both pipes, the loved and the loathed, would start from the same place, follow the same route, and end up at the same location. Oh, and they’d carry the same thing. Yep, that’s the weird thing about twinning things: they’re essentially alike.

When Alberta wants to get more oil to tidewater, Horgan’s lot blanch and throw up every roadblock they can dream up. Yet when, in response, Alberta says, “OK, then, we’ll reduce the oil we’re already sending you,” they throw a hissy fit and whine it isn’t fair because Vancouver gasoline prices will rise even more. So they vow a constitutional challenge to stop any such move.

Now, these days we’re becoming almost immune to the full scope of this relentless stupidity, but try explaining this stuff to a relative or friend from overseas and watch their initial confusion eventually morph into laughter. Back in the day, the Monty Python crew would sing about Canada’s lumberjacks, today’s version would involve a melody to pipelines.

However, it isn’t funny here in Calgary, with so many jobs and futures tied to this ongoing insanity. Our laughter remains hollow at best.

So what in heaven’s name is going on in this country these days? Is it all just one long drama class, led by that handsome lead actor currently playing the part of the prime minister of a previously well-respected country?

Nowadays, off in Ottawa where you’d usually hope for some fair-minded resolution to this pipeline lunacy, we have a fellow at the helm who is merrily and systematically managing to insult the entire globe.

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Not content with previously annoying India, China and the U.S., he recently twice described the visiting Japanese prime minister as Chinese (maybe someone should tell him those two countries fought a vicious war 80 years ago and aren’t exactly best buds). Oh, what the heck. To Justin Trudeau, they’re all peoplekind anyhow.

This is absolutely bonkers. The energy industry is the most vital economic lever in Canada, yet the B.C and federal governments are actively working to deep six the very hand that’s fed them so well. All this is being done because of some moral crusade about global warming.

Heck, the federal environment minister seems to think carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Sure, let’s eradicate it and see how long mankind lasts. (Raw sewage into the St. Lawrence? Now that’s pollution.)

Oh, and does Ottawa have any idea how many coal-fired power plants China’s building right now, both on its own soil and abroad? The answer is in the hundreds. Trudeau and Horgan don’t care. It’s just theatre and so much fun. That is until someone other than just Alberta loses an economy.

Chris Nelson is a regular columnist in the Calgary Herald.