Kinder Morgan Inc. hinted at a potential offloading of its remaining Canadian assets following the sale of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the federal government.

Speaking at an energy conference Wednesday, Kinder Morgan Chief Executive Officer Steve Kean said that while its Canadian affiliate has “attractive assets” and “no debt on the balance sheet,” the company’s primary objective was to use those projects to support the Trans Mountain expansion.

“It’s a set of midstream assets in what we think is an attractive seller’s market for those assets,” he said. “We are going to explore that over the coming months.”

In addition to the Canadian portion of the Cochin pipeline system and the Jet Fuel pipeline system, Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. has a network of crude storage and rail terminals in Edmonton, Alberta, and the Vancouver Wharves Terminal in British Columbia.

“We can always say no, because the assets themselves will stand on their own,” Kean said.

Kinder Morgan Canada shareholders voted last week to proceed with a $4.5 billion sale of the Trans Mountain pipeline to the federal government. The decision came less than an hour after a Canadian court nullified its approval.

–With assistance from Kevin Orland.

Bloomberg.com</s>Kinder Morgan Inc. hinted at a potential off-loading of its remaining Canadian assets following the sale of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the federal government.

Speaking at an energy conference Wednesday, Kinder Morgan chief executive officer Steve Kean said that while its Canadian affiliate has “attractive assets” and “no debt on the balance sheet,” the company’s primary objective was to use those projects to support the Trans Mountain expansion.

“It’s a set of midstream assets in what we think is an attractive seller’s market for those assets,” he said. “We are going to explore that over the coming months.”

In addition to the Canadian portion of the Cochin pipeline system and the Jet Fuel pipeline system, Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. has a network of crude storage and rail terminals in Edmonton, Alberta and the Vancouver Wharves Terminal in British Columbia.

“We can always say no, because the assets themselves will stand on their own,” Kean said.

Kinder Morgan Canada shareholders voted last week to proceed with a $4.5 billion sale of the Trans Mountain pipeline to the federal government. The decision came less than an hour after a Canadian court nullified its approval.

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Noncommittal Trudeau meets Notley after Alberta warns Ottawa, threatening national climate plan</s>Kinder Morgan (KMI ) CEO Steve Kean hints at a potential offloading of the company's remaining Canadian assets following the sale of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the federal government.

Kean told the Barclays energy conference yesterday that while KMI's Canadian affiliate has “attractive assets” and “no debt on the balance sheet,” the company’s primary objective was to use those projects to support the Trans Mountain expansion.

“It’s a set of midstream assets in what we think is an attractive seller’s market for those assets. We are going to explore that over the coming months," the CEO said.

Kinder Morgan Canada (OTCPK:KMLGF) owns the Canadian portion of the Cochin pipeline system and the Jet Fuel pipeline system, as well as a network of crude storage and rail terminals in Alberta and the Vancouver Wharves Terminal in British Columbia.</s>Kinder Morgan Inc. hinted at a potential off-loading of its remaining Canadian assets following the sale of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the federal government. Speaking at an energy conference Wednesday, Kinder Morgan chief executive officer Steve Kean said that while its Canadian affiliate has “attractive assets” and “no debt on the balance sheet,” the company’s primary objective was to use those projects to support the Trans Mountain expansion.

“It’s a set of midstream assets in what we think is an attractive seller’s market for those assets,” he said. “We are going to explore that over the coming months.” In addition to the Canadian portion of the Cochin pipeline system and the Jet Fuel pipeline system, Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. has a network of crude storage and rail terminals in Edmonton, Alberta and the Vancouver Wharves Terminal in British Columbia. “We can always say no, because the assets themselves will stand on their own,” Kean said.</s>OTTAWA — The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project would be "dead" if it were still in private hands,, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

The prime minister made the remark during an Edmonton radio interview on 630 CHED ahead of a meeting with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.

"There would be no Trans Mountain expansion if it were still a private proponent doing it," he said, of the Court of Appeal ruling overturned the National Energy Board's approval of the contentious project. "So our decision to actually take on the project is the only thing that means we can still move forward with this project."

Trudeau told host Bruce Bowie that the federal government has a "greater tolerance for risk" — suggesting the project has a larger safety net now than if it were still owned by Kinder Morgan Canada.

While the federal government's goal is to get Alberta's oil resources to tidewater, Trudeau said it's not the federal government's objective to make a profit from the pipeline.

"Our process and our focus is on getting that pipeline built the right way so we can finally get our oil resources to markets other than the United States," he said.

He said it was it "ridiculous" that Canadian oil is still mostly flowing to the United States when there are new market opportunities in Asia.

"And that's why this project is in the national interest. That's why we're going to get it built." The prime minister did not offer an explanation for how the government will get the expansion project built."

A Federal Court of Appeal decision last week halted construction on the pipeline expansion. In a unanimous ruling, the court said the government had failed in its legal duty to consult Indigenous peoples; and NEB had unjustifiably excluded project-related tanker traffic in its environmental review.

That same day, Kinder Morgan Canada shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of selling the pipeline and the assets related to its expansion to the federal government.

Shortly after the decision, both Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau reaffirmed the government would need some time to review the ruling before it decides on its next steps.

In Ottawa, the House of Commons' natural resources committee held an emergency meeting Tuesday where Tory MP Shannon Stubbs tabled a motion to have two senior ministers answer questions this week about the government's handling of the pipeline expansion project.

Stubbs' motion was voted down by Liberal MPs who hold a majority on the committee.

The federal government could decide to re-do consultations with Indigenous peoples, appealing ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada, or drop the expansion project altogether.

But Trudeau told 630 CHED he views the court ruling as a roadmap to guide the government in getting the expansion project built.

When asked if Ottawa would invoke the notwithstanding clause to ensure the pipeline expansion gets built, Trudeau suggested it's not in his government's interest to use "tricks" because that kind of action sows unfavourable political and economic effects.

He explained "using a legislative trick may be satisfying in the short term, but it would set up fights and uncertainty for investors over the coming years on any other project."

The notwithstanding clause has been raised by some experts, including former Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest, as a way the government could circumvent the Federal Court of Appeal's ruling. But that legislative route would be "problematic," according to a McGill law professor.

Evan Fox-Decent explained last week that the government's legal duty to consult Indigenous peoples is not enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — it's anchored in section 35 of the Constitution Act.

The Charter allows two ways for governments to go around any limits it imposes: by invoking the limitations clause or notwithstanding cause. But because the duty to consult Indigenous peoples is not in the Charter, invoking the notwithstanding clause to sidestep the court would not make any sense.

"So it is far from clear where the federal government could acquire lawful legislative authority to avoid the duty to consult the FCA says it owes to First Nations," Fox-Decent said.

Following his radio interview, Trudeau told reporters at an event at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology's Productivity and Innovation Centre that he understands the frustration the province's oil workers may be feeling towards his government.

"We would like to see shovels in the ground as quickly as possible," he said.</s>Last week’s court ruling on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would have “killed” the project outright if it were still in private hands, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

Trudeau defended his government’s decision to buy the pipeline in remarks to reporters during a visit to Edmonton Wednesday.

His appearance comes one week after the Federal Court of Appeal reversed a cabinet decision allowing construction to begin on the pipeline expansion between Strathcona County and Burnaby, B.C.

“If that project expansion was still in private hands, that court of appeal ruling would have killed it,” Trudeau said to reporters in Edmonton.

Faced with opposition from the B.C. government, some Indigenous communities and environmental groups, the federal government in May opted to purchase the pipeline and all of Kinder Morgan Canada’s core assets.

The $4.5-billion deal closed last Thursday, the same day the appellate court ruling further delayed the project.

Trudeau told 630 CHED radio listeners Wednesday morning that the project would be “dead” if the federal government hadn’t stepped in, citing government’s higher tolerance for risk and the fact it does not need to turn a profit.

“There would be no Trans Mountain expansion if it was still a private proponent doing it,” he said. “So our decision to actually take on the project is the only thing that means that we can still move forward with this project.”

Trudeau’s comments drew criticism from Conservative natural resources critic Shannon Stubbs, MP for the eastern Alberta riding of Lakeland.

“It’s a very damaging message — for the prime minister to basically admit that the private sector can’t build pipelines in Canada,” she said.

She said the project is still stalled despite the government’s purchase.

“If the prime minister knew, as he should have, that there was this risk of this ruling … then why did he not have a concrete action plan that would be launched and announced immediately in the event of that ruling?”

On Wednesday, the head of Suncor Energy Inc. said the company won’t move ahead with additional crude oil production expansion until there’s physical progress on getting pipelines approved.

Chief executive Steve Williams told an investor conference in New York that recent judicial rulings on Trans Mountain and Keystone XL do not have any impacts on its ability to get its product to market in the short term.

However, the company won’t approve additional expansions in production next year and into 2020 until the fate of the pipelines is clear, he said.

The appellate court found the federal government fell short in assessing the pipeline expansion’s impacts on tanker traffic, as well as in its duty to consult First Nations before approving the project.

Martha Hall Findlay, a former Liberal MP who is now CEO of the Canada West Foundation, disagreed with Trudeau’s claim that the court decision would have killed a privately held project.

“We don’t feel that way,” she said. “Very much the thrust of our messaging on (the Trans Mountain expansion) … is that private or not, the decision actually has a lot of positives.”

Among other things, the court outlined specific steps that clarify the National Energy Board’s responsibilities, as well as the duty to consult Indigenous peoples, she said. Appealing the decision would likely take longer than fixing the problems the court identified, she added.

The federal government and proponents have “a much clearer way forward” on energy projects after the decision, Hall Findlay added, predicting the decision would “in fact help Canada’s investment climate.”

“The court went out of its way to talk about (how) what is needed should not actually take much more delay … there’s no question this court was very conscious about not saying that this project (is) a no-go.”

— With files from Clare Clancy and The Canadian Press</s>EDMONTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be in Edmonton today, where he’ll face questions about his government’s plans for the beleaguered Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The prime minister’s office says Trudeau will meet with Premier Rachel Notley this afternoon. A spokeswoman for Notley says the meeting will be about the pipeline, and that the premier hopes to discuss possible paths forward for the controversial project.

The Federal Court of Appeal last week reversed a cabinet decision to allow construction to go ahead, ruling there was not enough consultation with Indigenous people and that the National Energy Board didn’t properly consider the impact of an increase in oil tanker traffic.

After last week’s court decision, Notley announced she was pulling Alberta out of the federal climate plan until Ottawa gets the expansion back on track. She also demanded that Trudeau appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada and hold an emergency session of Parliament on the issue.

Trudeau has said Ottawa remains committed to getting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built.

The project would triple the bitumen-carrying capacity of the existing pipeline from the Edmonton area and Metro Vancouver.

Minutes after the court ruling was released on Friday, Kinder Morgan shareholders approved the sale of the existing pipeline and other assets to the federal government for $4.5 billion. The purchase closed on Friday, making the federal government wholly responsible for what happens next.

During his visit to the Alberta capital, Trudeau will also tour several facilities and a cultural society with Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, who is an Edmonton MP. The prime minister will give a speech at a Liberal fundraising event in the evening.</s>In all, 43 First Nation bands have endorsed the project. Kinder Morgan secured the support of all the bands along the path of the pipeline and, by the company's estimate, 80 per cent of those nearby. The bands were looking forward to $400 million they had agreed to receive from Kinder Morgan, not to mention the employment provided as the pipeline made its way west.

The only money coastal bands could hope for from this pipeline proposal is from pipeline opponents, such as the foundations in the United States that have funded and co-ordinated anti-oil sands efforts for at least 10 years.

The courts have recognized a "duty to consult" Indigenous bands, but its interpretation has been largely left to judicial whims. Courts have consistently shown that the duty to consult doesn't constitute a veto. How reasonable or productive would it be to talk to coastal bands who would never agree to a pipeline or more oil tankers?

The project was already addressing 157 conditions placed on it by the NEB. It even agreed to share part of the profits with a new B.C. Clean Communities Program to fund local projects for the betterment of B.C.'s natural and coastal environments.

Law professor Dwight Newman, who authored a book and an academic paper on the duty to consult, believes that governments need to be more proactive in eliminating the legal uncertainty around pipelines. To this end, he is fully supportive of Bill S-245, the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project Act, which was introduced by Alberta Sen. Douglas Black in February. It would declare the Trans Mountain project to be "for the general advantage of Canada." This would invoke 92 (10)(c) of the Constitution Act to clarify federal jurisdiction over the project. Such powers have been invoked hundreds of times before, and, in Newman's opinion, would have made the nationalization of the project unnecessary.

For its part, the federal government insists it still supports the project. Yet, whether it appeals to the Supreme Court or abides by the decision, pipeline construction has been set back at least six months.

This leaves Canadian oil and gas exports largely cut off from Asia, and fetching sub-world prices in the U.S.

Canada can't put its best foot forward so long as it's busy shooting it.

Lee Harding is research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. © Troy Media

Lee Harding is research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. © Troy Media</s>Rerouting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to avoid a First Nation’s aquifer and ensuring another First Nation will always be immediately notified of a pipeline spill are among the steps Ottawa could take to address Indigenous concerns about the project.

The existing pipeline already runs between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C., carrying various types of crude and refined oil products to be shipped on tankers through the Burrard Inlet to the Pacific Ocean. The expansion proposes to build a second pipeline roughly parallel to the first in order to triple the capacity.

READ MORE: Trans Mountain pipeline should go ahead even if consultation doesn’t end with consensus, Notley says

Last week, the Federal Court of Appeal quashed approval for the project citing insufficient consultation with Indigenous communities and a failure to assess the environmental impact of more tanker traffic off the coast of British Columbia.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has murmured about using that decision as a road map forward and it provides a number of clear suggestions for what needs to be done.

For example, the Coldwater Indian Band in the central interior of B.C. proposed an alternate route for the new pipeline that it felt posed less risk to its aquifer, its sole source of drinking water.

The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, whose territory sits right on the Burrard Inlet, raised concerns about the impact of all that extra oil and the higher risk of spills when the number of oil tankers increases.

In consultations with both bands, the court said Canada listened and tried to understand the concerns but didn’t try to figure out what could be done to address them.

READ MORE: Suncor CEO says company won’t approve more oil production expansions without progress on pipelines

With Tsleil-Waututh, the federal government’s response was a promise to come up with a plan “over the next few years” to address the increased risk from about five tankers a month to more than 30, travelling the inlet loaded with diluted bitumen.

The band never felt the government took its concerns seriously. One of its specific asks was to have the issue of increased oil tankers assessed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, which was not done. Such an assessment could have also addressed the court’s criticism that the National Energy Board hadn’t properly assessed the risk of the increased tanker traffic.

READ MORE: Justin Trudeau says adhering to the court’s guidance best way to get Trans Mountain built

On Wednesday, Trudeau hinted that altering the route or introducing additional mitigating measures were things to be considered.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Thursday she hasn’t given Ottawa a deadline for producing a plan but said both Alberta and Canadian officials are “brainstorming solutions.”

She said she felt Ottawa understood the urgency but is still hoping for a direct plan soon.

WATCH: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks to media on Thursday, after meeting with her Market Access Task Force and energy industry leaders.

NDP MP Richard Cannings said when the Liberals decided to do additional consultations with Indigenous communities in 2016, it was a chance not just to listen but to directly address concerns. It listened but didn’t do anything, despite being given many specific actions that could have made First Nations more comfortable with the project, he said.

The court found the government mistakenly believed it couldn’t add any additional conditions to the pipeline’s approval beyond the 157 conditions applied by the National Energy Board when it recommended approval in May 2016.

The Stó:lō Nation — a political amalgamation of 11 Stó:lō communities in B.C.’s Fraser Valley — did their own assessment and made 89 recommendations about how their concerns could be mitigated. Those recommendations included having Stó:lō input on fishing management plans, the location of water testing facilities and river bank restoration.

One was as simple as a declaration that Stó:lō representatives would be notified immediately if the pipeline leaks or spills any amount of bitumen.

But the National Energy Board did not adopt a single one of Stó:lō conditions, and neither did cabinet.

The Squamish Nation, which also holds territory on Burrard Inlet, felt it didn’t have enough information to know whether the project would have a negative impact on its land or people, and one of the biggest gaps in information was about how diluted bitumen behaves when spilled in ocean water.

Similar concerns were raised by the British Columbia government and are behind that province’s court challenge trying to prevent diluted bitumen from flowing through the pipeline until more is known about the substance.

The federal government’s response to that was largely to say there were existing regulations requiring Kinder Morgan to anticipate, prevent and mitigate risks to people, the environment or property.

WATCH: The fallout from a bombshell Federal Court of Appeal decision to quash Ottawa’s approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion continues as dozens of B.C. workers now face a very uncertain future. Paul Johnson reports.</s>Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. is planning to return about $1.2 billion to shareholders from its sale of the contentious Trans Mountain oil pipeline to the Canadian government.

The board also voted to approve a plan for a “reverse stock split” of the restricted voting shares and special voting shares on a one-for-three basis, the unit of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc. said in a statement Tuesday.

The Trans Mountain extension project, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government bought for $4.5 billion, suffered a major setback last week after a Canadian court nullified its approval. The line, which takes crude from the oilsands to the country’s Pacific Coast, faces strong opposition in British Columbia, the province it crosses to reach the shore.

The payment to holders of restricted voting shares will take place Jan. 3, with the reverse stock split to follow, if the plan is approved. The proposals will be voted on at a special shareholder meeting during the fourth quarter of this year.

Here are other key takeaways from the statement:
• Kinder Canada expects to maintain a dividend of $0.1625 per restricted share in the third quarter and expects to pay the dividend before the reverse split.
• For the fourth quarter, the first entirely without Trans Mountain, Kinder Canada expects its remaining assets in the pipelines and terminals segments to generate adjusted earnings before certain items, or Ebitda, of just over $50 million.
• The company expects to finish the year with little or no debt.
• John Schlosser was named president, and he continues to serve as president of Terminals for Kinder Morgan Inc.
• Kinder Morgan said it plans to vote in favor of Kinder Canada’s board proposals.
Kinder Morgan hints at a potential offloading of Canada assets following sales of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project to the Canadian government.