Or, more accurately, thank you TransCanada:
TransCanada has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration and plans to file a claim under the North American Free Trade Agreement over the U.S. government’s rejection of the company’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The company said Wednesday it has filed a notice of intent to initiate the NAFTA claim on the basis that the denial was not justified.
“TransCanada has been unjustly deprived of the value of its multibillion-dollar investment by the U.S. administration’s action,” said the company in a release.
The firm says it will be looking to recover $15 billion US in costs and damages as a result of what it says is a breach of obligations under Chapter 11 of NAFTA.
“TransCanada asserts the U.S. administration’s decision to deny a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline was arbitrary and unjustified,” the company said.
via CBC News
In the old days, when a company risked it’s money on an investment that would require government approvals to move forward, the risk was on the company, not on the government. But that was before they rigged the system; imperfectly in NAFTA (TransCanada may lose), but far more perfectly in the not yet passed TPP. If we manage to stave off the TPP we may have TransCanada to thank, for demonstrating that the warnings of TPP opponents have a basis in fact. It may push some wavering lawmakers in the right direction.
It should be noted that TransCanada’s legal position comes down to this: If a country wants to make a political decision that adversely affects a corporation’s interests, it may do so only if it pays off the corporation. So, if we want to avoid global warming, we can do so only by paying big bucks to the energy companies that have caused the problem in the first place.
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