(OTTAWA) -- Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) is calling on the Trudeau government to clarify details of its proposed $4.5 billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline and other assets of Kinder Morgan Canada.

“The sands are definitely shifting as new details of this arrangement slowly emerge,” said Ms. May following a briefing for MPs by a senior Finance Department official yesterday. “It is becoming clear that the government has forged ahead with this purchase without a clear understanding of what is involved.”

During today’s briefing, it was revealed that the August closing date for the Kinder Morgan deal announced by Finance Minister Bill Morneau during a press conference last spring is no longer operative. The new date is unclear because:

Kinder Morgan shareholders have not yet voted to approve the deal and no vote has been scheduled; and

The deal includes the company’s 63-year-old Puget Sound pipeline that delivers Canadian crude from Abbotsford B.C. to refineries in Washington state. This transfer will be subject to a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The Trump administration cited national security concerns recently when it imposed punitive tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports.

“I doubt whether Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Morneau realized that in their reckless rush to push through this disastrous climate-destroying deal they would be handing Donald Trump another stick,” said Ms. May.

Ms. May said it was also revealed during the briefing that various other assets owned by Kinder Morgan Canada -- including the profitable Cochin pipeline that moves diluent from Illinois to Alberta -- are not part of the $4.5 billion package.

“I think Canadian taxpayers deserve to know exactly what’s involved here,” she said. “Apart from the terrible implications for our oceans, our climate and our relationship with Indigenous peoples, it is far from clear that this deal even represents value for money.”

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For more information or to arrange an interview:

John Chenery

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