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Alberta isn’t asking for hand-outs. They just want to get their oil to market. And the NDP government of Rachel Notley has adopted a new tactic that’s going to make Trudeau and the environmentalists stop and think again.

“Alberta’s oil is going to flow one way or another – if not by pipelines, then by rail or by truck,” Notley said Wednesday at a Canadian Club luncheon in Ottawa.

There she announced that her government was finalizing a purchase of rail cars that would be used to transport oil.

“Don’t mistake me – this is not the long-term answer,” she added. “But until pipelines are built, we need to move more oil by rail.”

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It’s no surprise Notley made the announcement in Ottawa, because she then called on the feds to pony up some of the cash for this purchase. Morneau has been cold to the idea, but given this mess is largely Ottawa’s making, he should reconsider.

For years now experts have told us that shipping oil by pipeline is far safer than shipping by rail. Incidents like the tragic Lac Megantic rail disaster of 2013 that left 47 people dead are a prime example.

The feds know this too. It’s why Transport Minister Marc Garneau sped up the timeline for introducing new rules that ban certain tank cars from carrying crude oil.