In 1956, the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent was tasked with
defending the decision to establish a Crown Corporation in order to build the
Trans-Canada Pipeline.
Sound familiar?
The pipeline controversies of 2020 are nothing new. Sixty-four years
ago, the Canadian Parliament was in embroiled in a scandal about the financing
of the Trans-Canada Pipeline.
The private sector wouldn't invest in the costly project to carry
natural gas from Alberta to the East, and a great debate erupted when St.
Laurent's government created a Crown Corporation to get the pipeline built.
Considerable opposition from the Progressive Conservatives and the CCF
threatened to delay construction, and the Liberals moved to limit debate. That
decision would cost the Liberals their government.
Thanks to these measures, the bill passed and the pipeline was
eventually completed in 1958 -- a real technological accomplishment for the
time. But its political consequences were considerable. By 1957, the
resulting brouhaha had contributed to the Liberals defeat.
 |
| The Honourable John Diefenbaker |
The former Minister of Finance, the Hon.
Walter Harris, spoke in defense of the project frequently. Once hailed
as a potential successor to Prime Minister St. Laurent, his part in the
Pipeline Debate contributed to him losing his seat in the '57 election. John
Diefenbaker became Prime Minister.
Today, as in the past, vociferous debates
over inter-provincial energy infrastructure routinely lay bare Canada's
regional divides.
Seemingly no less controversial than the one
in 1956, construction for this inter-provincial pipeline is nevertheless well
underway. (Even BC Premier John Horgan has conceded
that it will be built.)
 |
| Honourable Walter Harris |
Below is the abridged text of the Honourable Walter Harris' remarks from
a radio broadcast on Friday, June 15, 1956. (Published by the National Liberal
Federation - Ottawa, Canada. Archival materials courtesy of BC Women's Liberal
Commission, 2020.)
----------------
Parliament and the Pipeline
After a stormy passage through Parliament, the Pipe Line Bill became law
a week ago. In spite of all the reports in the newspapers and on the radio,
many people I meet do not yet seem to know what the Bill was all about.
Here are the facts: the Pipe Line Bill established a Crown Company to do
two things. The first is to lend up to $80 million to a Canadian company called
Trans-Canada Pipe Lines. This is estimated to be 90 per cent of the cost of
building a natural gas pipe line across the prairies from Alberta to Winnipeg.
Taxpayers Cannot Possibly Lose
The pipe line is to be started at once and completed to Winnipeg by the
end of the year, and the Company has to pay back the loan with interest at 5
per cent by the beginning of April next year. If the Company fails to pay - the
Government can get the pipe line for 90 per cent of its cost. If the Company
pays off the loan, the Crown Corporation will use the $80 million to help build
another section of the pipe line across northern Ontario,
The pipe line is northern Ontario will be built in partnership with the
Conservative government of Ontario and will be rented to Trans-Canada Pipe
Lines at a good rental. The Ontario Government have agreed to put up $35
million of the cost of this section, which might run to $130 million.
If it is a good thing to have a natural gas pipe line from Alberta to
Ontario and Quebec - and we in the government believe it is - the Canadians
taxpayers cannot possibly lose on this deal.
The Conservative and the C.C.F. parties fought the Pipe Line Bill in
Parliament, and the Social Credit party supported it. The Conservatives and the
C.C.F. called it a give-away programme. It is nothing of the kind.
For the prairie section of the line, the Government will either get back
the money with good interest or we could get a pipe line at a bargain
price. The Opposition has added together the $80 million loan for the
prairies and the $130 million cost of the line in northern Ontario and
pretended the Government was going to help out a private company to the extent
of $200 million.
The truth is that if Trans-Canada does not repay the $80 million, they
won't have the pipe line, and the northern Ontario section will certainly not
be leased to them. Our contract allows us to take over the prairie pipe line -
and we would not have agreed to a loan except on those terms.
The Future Belongs To Us
Under these circumstances the sooner the job was started the better. The
time has gone by when Canada can afford to wait; the future belongs to us and
any government which hesitates to take steps to keep our expansion growing
would not be doing its duty to the Canadian people. To sum up -- wait another
year -- perhaps longer -- or get on with the job. We think getting on with the
job is the Canadian way.
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