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It was a resounding defeat for the NDP-Green government of Premier John Horgan, which immediately promised to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. That process could take many months or even more than a year, but in the meantime the Trudeau government should give a green light to Trans Mountain.

If Canada is to become an appealing destination for energy investment again, the federal government must – must – show its solid support for projects that have jumped through all the hoops. Huge sums of money are at stake for our economy and governments.

Several sources estimate federal foot-dragging on Trans Mountain and other energy projects has scared away over $100 billion from the Canadian economy in just the past two years.

Now the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has estimated that governments (and thus taxpayers) have lost at least $6.2 billion over the past five years in direct revenues due solely to a lack of pipelines. That’s $6.2 billion less for social programs, for hiring teachers and nurses and for public infrastructure.

The environmentalists and “green” politicians who have been holding up Trans Mountain and other pipelines are not just hurting oil companies’ bottom lines, they are robbing citizens of key services in the name of their pet cause,

The Trudeau cabinet needs to take courage from the B.C court decision and get off the fence on Trans Mountain. (Yes, we know, the Liberals bought the pipeline a year ago ostensibly to keep it alive. But since then, they have shown no clear enthusiasm for getting the job done.)