For its next trick, Ottawa must unload the $34B Trans Mountain pipeline. It won't be easy | CBC News LoadedThe federal government bought the project when the proposed pipeline was on the verge of falling apart before there was ever a shovel in the ground in the face of legal, political, and regulatory challenges.Pipes are seen at the Trans Mountain pipeline facility in Edmonton in April 2017.
But the move will no doubt open a Pandora's box, says Daniel Béland, the director of the McGill University Institute for the Study of Canada and a professor in the department of political science. "There's risk either way. If you sell it really fast, but you sell it at the price that is considered to be quite low, then you might be accused of just getting rid of it for political reasons but not having the interest of taxpayers in mind," he said.
Mason is still pursuing ownership. He won't discuss numbers, but suspects Trans Mountain is worth far less than $34 billion. Those companies have balked at the higher rates arguing they shouldn't have to bear the "extreme magnitude" of construction overruns. The Canada Energy Regulator has scheduled a hearing for September, at the earliest, to resolve the issue.
"There's no way anyone would pay the full cost of the pipeline because the tolls don't support it. You're going to need to discount it. You're going to need to take a haircut of at least 50 per cent of this pipeline," he said.