CONSERVATIVE Party Leader Andrew Scheer on Monday laid out a two-step plan to get the Trans Mountain Expansion built and the steps a Conservative government will take in 2019 to undo the damage Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s failures have caused.

“After years of failing to deliver results on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals still have no plan of action to get the pipeline completed,” Scheer said. “What they announced last week gets us no closer to construction or completion of this critical project and what they have done over the last three years has inflicted terrible damage to our energy sector.

“That’s why today I am outlining steps Justin Trudeau should take immediately to get Trans Mountain built and announcing what a Conservative government will do to reverse Justin Trudeau’s failed policies and make Canada a place where energy investments are encouraged.”

These steps include:

• Immediate completion of indigenous consultations
• Appealing the Federal Court of Appeal’s ruling to the Supreme Court
• Repealing Bill C-69 and ending the shipping ban in northern British Columbia
• Enacting legislation to:

– Clarify roles of proponents and governments in consultations

– End foreign-funded interference in regulatory hearings

– Provide certainty on approval timelines and schedules

Scheer noted that four pipeline projects were completed under the previous Conservative government without spending one cent of taxpayers’ money.   These include Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper, Trans Canada’s original Keystone pipeline, Kinder Morgan’s Anchor Loop, and Enbridge’s Line 9B Reversal. Together, they ship 1.2 million barrels of western Canadian oil every single day.

“The only thing that has changed between then – when pipelines were proposed, approved, and actually built – and now – when pipelines are suffocated to death by government overreach and incompetence – is Justin Trudeau becoming Prime Minister of Canada,” Scheer said.