BURNABY – Today’s announcement that the federal government will purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will save the vital pipeline and thousands of jobs that come with it, but it highlights how damaging the actions of Premier John Horgan and the B.C. NDP Government have been to Canada, said the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) today.

“This really is a sad day for Canada, and Premier Horgan is squarely to blame,” said Chris Gardner, president of ICBA. “In less than a year on the job, John Horgan has ripped-up the approval of the Trans Mountain project; created a constitutional crisis; started a trade war with B.C.’s closest neighbour; sent a chilling message to investors that Canada does not respect the rule of law; and forced Ottawa to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to build a project that the private sector was more than willing to deliver.”

ICBA has long supported the Trans Mountain project and the 15,000 construction jobs it will create. ICBA’s #Get2Yes campaign in the past five weeks generated nearly 4,000 emails of support for the pipeline and has strongly supported the #ConfidenceInCanada coalition.

“John Horgan has forced Canada to nationalize a project that a private company was willing to build,” said Jordan Bateman, ICBA communications director. “Kinder Morgan did everything right – years of consultation, deals with every First Nation along its route, securing every regulatory and government approval required in BC and Canada, winning 16 straight court victories, and building strong majority support in B.C. But none of this was good enough for a premier who, irresponsible in the pursuit of power, only cares about holding on to the Green Party’s three votes in the Legislature.”

Today’s decision reinforces the difficulty private companies are having in navigating Canada’s exceedingly complex regulatory processes and professional protestors.

“It’s hard to imagine proponents of major infrastructure and responsible resource development projects taking any comfort from today’s announcement,” said Gardner. “Investment is fleeing Canada and commentators are saying ‘Canada is a laughing stock’ – this will simply accelerate that capital flight, taking with it opportunity, talent and jobs for Canadians.”