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It ended not with a bang or even a whimper, but with a frustratingly vague news release.

When TransCanada announced Thursday it had killed the proposed $15-billion Energy East pipeline, its brief release cited “changed circumstances.”

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Huh?

What does that mean?

Does it mean the depressed price of oil made the line uneconomical? Or did the new environmental review process at the National Energy Board prove one obstacle too many?

In other words, do we blame world economics? Or domestic politics?

There is, of course, a huge difference between the two. After Thursday’s announcement, all kinds of groups have been yelling or moaning or celebrating, depending on where they stand on pipelines, and politics.

When asked to clarify why it killed a project that would have pumped Alberta oil to New Brunswick for shipment overseas, a company spokesman offered an equally unhelpful response: “We are not going to be providing any further comment today beyond the news release.”