Pipeline Debate

The Pipeline Debate (May 8 to June 6, 1956) was one of the pivotal moments in the history of the Parliament of Canada. Although it began as a procedural issue, the controversy eventually contributed to the downfall of the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent.

Background

In order to meet the growing needs of Ontario and Quebec with the bountiful supply of natural gas in Alberta, St. Laurent and his Minister of Trade and Commerce, C.D. Howe, decided to allow a private company to build a gas pipeline from the west to the east. St. Laurent and Howe favoured a longer, more expensive route to be built entirely through Canadian territory, rejecting the route of the oil pipeline, which was shorter, but crossed into the United States on its way to eastern Canada. The parliamentary debate on the issue was focused on two issues: that a consortium that was owned by American interests required government loans to cover the extra costs incurred by building the long route and whether involving American businesses in the construction would inevitably lead to the government surrendering the pipleline to American control.

The opposition Progressive Conservative Party and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation planned to delay the plan with a filibuster. The Conservatives were opposed to the majority American ownership, even though the government pledged that the pipeline would only be under American control during the construction phase. The social democratic CCF wanted the pipeline to be entirely owned by the government as it was sure to be profitable given the demand for gas in Eastern Canada.

The debate

The opposition parties were aware that parliamentary approval of the plan had to be obtained by June 6, 1956, in order to get the necessary financing in place in time for the pipeline to be started by July 1, as the Liberal government had promised. The opposition believed that if the Liberals missed this deadline, the plan might fall apart under its own weight, and a new all-Canadian consortium or a Crown Corporation might be put together.

In order to counter the opposition tactics, the Liberals attempted to force closure - a vote ending debate and forcing a final vote - at every stage of the bill. The motions were carried with a heavily whipped Liberal caucus. During the heated exchanges of Parliament, in which Liberal MPs were called "trained seals" and "jackals", St. Laurent was seen calmly reading a book. Two weeks of debate received much coverage in most media outlets. Since most Canadians did not mind whether the pipeline was there or not, the actions of the Government seemed at best an overreaction, and at worst an undemocratic move.

The deadline

On the day before the deadline, Liberal Speaker of the House of Commons René Beaudoin allowed the opposition to debate a procedural matter . He ruled at the end of the day that debate on this issue would continue the following day, effectively allowing the opposition parties to debate the issue past the deadline. Howe was furious at the action.

However, at the next day's session, Beaudoin announced that the previous day's ruling was a mistake caused by the procedural confusion, all events after 2:15 that day should be ignored, and that debate would immediately recommence on the pipeline. The opposition parties strongly objected to the reversal, and chaos quickly broke out in Commons. MPs ran into the centre aisle, and Major Coldwell, the usually serene CCF Leader, went on to the Speaker's dais, shaking his fist and berating Beaudoin.

The Opposition claimed that the Prime Minister and Howe had put pressure on the Speaker to change his mind. As a result of the Speaker's reversal, Howe and St. Laurent were able to push through the loan guarantee legislation on June 6. The deadline turned out not to be as important as was originally thought: the factories which would construct the pipe used went on strike, delaying construction for a full year.

Epilogue

While the pipeline was put through, public opinion of the Liberal government fell 10 points in most opinion polls. The Progressive Conservatives would use the pipeline debate to show that the Liberals had become arrogant during their 21 consecutive years in government. In the 1957 election, the Conservatives won a minority government, and in the 1958 election, Diefenbaker won the largest majority in Canadian history.

Beaudoin's reputation was also destroyed. A motion of censure was tabled by George Drew, but failed due to Liberal opposition. Later, a newspaper would publish a letter from Beaudoin, in which he criticized the actions of some of the opposition members during the debate. Seen as violating the neutrality of his position, the letter sealed his fate, and he would retire in 1958.

Howe would later comment, "We were too old. I was too old. I didn't have the patience any more that it takes to deal with Parliament."

The loans given to the American businesses involved in the construction of the pipeline were paid in full, ahead of schedule, and the pipeline still remains under Canadian control. TransCanada Corporation of Calgary, Alberta owns and operates the pipeline today. TransCanada Corp. is a publicly traded company on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges (TSX, NYSE).