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“It’s one thing to stomp around and say ‘we’ll hold their feet to their fire,’ or ‘the federal government should’ve done X, Y and Z,’ but I don’t see, from my own point of view, where there is a lot that the federal government could do that would increase the likelihood of having a piepline underway earlier and not have it subject to a whole other set of appeals,” said University of Alberta business professor Andrew Leach. “I can’t see how any of the other solutions are faster or not more fraught with a whole lot of unintended consequences.”

Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Notley welcomed the new consultations that Iacobucci will spearhead, saying it has been her government’s position they needed to be done; she didn’t express concerns about the undefined timeline for Iacobucci’s work.

“The process itself is not one that can be held to a timeline, if it is going to be authentic and meaningful and demonstrate integrity,” Notley said.

Kenney, for his part, described the process as becoming “mired” in further consultations.

Tom Flanagan, a University of Calgary professor, said the big remaining question is what happens even after consultation, and whether or not there will be a showdown between the federal government and those who object to the pipeline.

“I don’t think there’s anything better that Alberta can demand right now, this probably is the most expeditious way of going about it,” Flanagan said. “But there is this confrontation looming down the road because consultation probably won’t work, if by work you mean getting unanimous agreement to it.”

Which leaves a few other options that aren’t precisely about getting Trans Mountain built. Richard Starke, an independent MLA, said the government shouldn’t “put all of our eggs in the Trans Mountain basket,” pointing to the Eagle Spirit pipeline and proposals for a rail line to Alaska, which could, in theory, move oil to other markets and circumvent B.C., while everyone waits for Trans Mountain to get sorted out.

“It’s frustrating in that we, OK, fine, we have this roadmap, but we have no idea how long it’s going to take,” Starke said.

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