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“As a basic proposition, of course, it makes sense, much more sense, for Canada to be taking that product from the West, moving it within our own country, refining it here because by refining, upgrading and adding value here, you’re creating jobs in Canada,” he said.

No one questions the need for a thorough assessment, but Mulcair’s position is calculated to protect him having to give a firm answer

But with reservations growing in Quebec, he is seeking to convey doubts about the plan, while not wholly abandoning support. His position caught the eye of Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, who sought to add to Mulcair’s discomfort Tuesday by accusing him of saying one thing in English Canada and another in Quebec.

“It’s time for him to be clear,” Duceppe said, demanding Mulcair pick a policy and stay with it. “Because it’s the same question, we should have the same answer. Is he for or against? … He has to say that, not only in Quebec, but also when he is campaigning in the West. You can’t be for and against at the very same time.”

Duceppe is, on this issue, exactly right. It’s a awkward position for Mulcair, no doubt, but that’s what leadership is all about. If Mulcair wants to be prime minister, he has to demonstrate he can make decisions even when they might not prove wholly popular.

The Energy East pipeline meets numerous NDP criteria. Unlike Keystone, it would be located wholly inside Canada, so there’s no danger of jobs being exported. It would ensure more refining was done here, a position supported by both the federal NDP and Alberta’s new NDP premier, Rachel Notley. It would reduce the need to ship crude by rail, which is a more dangerous and environmentally unfriendly process than pipelines. And 3,000 kilometres of the 4,600-kilometre pipeline is already in place — TransCanada would only need to convert it for oil use and reverse the direction of the flow.