The Canadian Press - February 7, 2019   
      
   Governor says Washington will try to influence Trans Mountain 'every way' it   
   can   
      
   Jay Inslee made the comments at a joint news conference in Seattle today with   
   B.C. Premier John Horgan, who is visiting the state to discuss partnerships on   
   endangered killer whales, clean energy and high-speed transportation.   
      
   SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says his state shares concerns with   
   B.C. about the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and will continue to voice   
   its objections any way it can.   
      
   Inslee made the comments at a joint news conference in Seattle on Thursday   
   with B.C. Premier John Horgan, who is visiting the state to discuss   
   partnerships on endangered killer whales, clean energy and high-speed rail.   
      
   Asked how Washington could influence the pipeline project, Inslee replied:   
   “Every way that we can under Canadian law.   
      
   “We’ve done that so far by our Department of Ecology making a vigorous,   
   robust statement of our concerns. I have exercised my rights as governor to   
   speak publicly and vocally about our concerns about this project.”   
      
   His concerns include the increased risk of oil spills and the impact of   
   increased vessel traffic and noise on endangered southern resident killer   
   whales off the coast of B.C. and Washington, he said.   
      
   “This (project) does not move us toward a clean energy future,” Inslee   
   added. “For both short and long-term reasons, the state of Washington stands   
   with, I believe, the people of British Columbia expressing concerns about this   
   project.”   
      
   The expansion would triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which   
   runs from near Edmonton to a waterfront terminal in Burnaby. Canada has   
   purchased the pipeline and expansion project for $4.5 billion.   
      
   The Federal Court of Appeal struck down the project’s approval last August   
   in part because of the National Energy Board’s failure to consider marine   
   shipping impacts. The government ordered the board to conduct a review of this   
   issue and report back    
   by Feb. 22.   
      
   Horgan has said that B.C. would use “every tool” in its tool box to fight   
   the pipeline expansion. He would not explicitly say on Thursday what tools the   
   province has left.   
      
   “I’m not answering that question directly in British Columbia, so I would   
   be remiss if I did that today,” he said. “We do have tools available to   
   us.”   
      
   The federal government has jurisdiction over inter-provincial pipelines,   
   Horgan said, but the province has filed a reference case in the B.C. Court of   
   Appeal to see if it has jurisdiction to regulate the transport of oil through   
   its territory.   
      
   “The challenge is that Alberta is landlocked and it has a resource that it   
   believes it needs to get to market and they’re struggling with that,” he   
   said. “I appreciate those challenges but my obligation is to protect the   
   interests of British    
   Columbia.”   
      
   He added the federal government is in a “difficult” position now that it   
   has purchased the pipeline.   
      
   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the expansion is in the best interests   
   of all Canadians and his government has committed $1.5 billion to an ocean   
   protection plan that includes millions for research on B.C. killer whale   
   populations.   
      
   Horgan also announced Thursday that B.C. will kick in another $300,000 to help   
   fund a study of a potential high-speed transportation service linking B.C.,   
   Washington and Oregon, after contributing the same amount last year.   
      
   He said he envisions high-speed rail running from Seattle to B.C.’s Lower   
   Mainland, with a terminus in Surrey that would connect to public   
   transportation infrastructure to take riders to Vancouver’s airport, the   
   city’s downtown core and the Fraser    
   Valley.   
      
   Inslee added that a preliminary review has shown the rail link could generate   
   1.8 million riders in the first few years and Washington has contributed over   
   $3 million to the project.   
      
   “It’s based on an optimistic vision of the growth that we’re going to   
   have in British Columbia and Washington,” he said. “We are a world-class   
   community across that border.”   
      
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