Prime minister and mayor talk infrastructure, try to find common ground on Energy East
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Montreal this morning to meet with Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre.
The meeting took place at 7 a.m. and comes just one day after interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose called on Trudeau to rein in his “friend” Coderre, himself a former Liberal cabinet minister, before he further whips up Western alienation.
Last week, Coderre and 81 other mayors from surrounding municipalities came out against TransCanada’s pan-Canadian pipeline project — which would convert an existing natural gas pipeline to one transporting crude oil — setting off a war of words with political leaders in the West.
“My concern is … this is affecting national unity,” Ambrose said on Monday, adding that some westerners feel betrayed by Quebecers after shouldering the burden of equalization payments Quebec has relied on for decades.
Trudeau said this morning’s meeting was planned weeks ago and is not a result of cries from the Opposition.
Coderre tweeted Monday evening, welcoming Trudeau to Montreal and repeating that the meeting was planned some time ago.
“Happy to welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to city hall,” Coderre wrote in French. “The meeting was planned several weeks ago.”
The meeting was expected to be similar to those Trudeau held with the mayors of Vancouver and Toronto in recent weeks.
This marks the first formal meeting between Trudeau and Coderre since last fall’s federal election.
It’s expected that other topics aside from the Energy East pipeline will also be addressed.
Source: CBC News
