There was some talk among a few pundits as the Trans Mountain pipeline finally began pumping oil to the Coast that it was a real achievement. It showed Canada could still build big mega projects successfully. It was an example of development and engineering.
This doesn鈥檛 mean it was a success.
First, consider the price tag. Back in 2013, we were told that the expansion would cost $5.4 billion, a wince-inducing amount of money. The total actual cost (so far as we know) is now $34 billion.
For comparison鈥檚 sake, the estimated cost of the Surrey-91原创 SkyTrain extension is about $4 billion, and moving people is a little more complex than pumping liquids through a tube, no matter how difficult the terrain.
That whole $34 billion is being absorbed by the taxpayers of Canada, since the government PM Justin Trudeau decided this was a national priority. It is expected to be sold back to the private sector, at a loss.
Then there鈥檚 the question of how long we鈥檒l need the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
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Aren鈥檛 we supposed to be weaning ourselves off oil?
We鈥檙e all familiar with the costs of global climate change now.
We all remember what it鈥檚 like for the sky to turn orange for days or weeks every summer from wildfire smoke.
We remember the torrential rain of the atmospheric rivers, the hundreds dead in the heat dome, the destruction of Lytton.
So, the federal government decided that our top priority was to ensure that the world could continue to burn Canadian oil more efficiently and in greater quantities.
What else could $34 billion have bought us?
We could have doubled the size of our medical school and nursing faculties, and slashed tuition costs for qualified students.
We could have given several years of free child-care to families. We could have put money into all sorts of clean, green innovation, from tech education to new battery and solar panel development. We could have literally given every Canadian $850 鈥� which is approximately your share of the pipeline, by the way.
The pipeline will also keep costing us. If the world is successful at reducing CO2, then in 20 or 30 or 40 years, we won鈥檛 need the pipeline any more. It鈥檒l be decommissioned.
Our younger readers can look forward to paying for that, cost overruns and all.
鈥� M.C.
