For its next trick, Ottawa must unload the $34B Trans Mountain pipeline. It won't be easy
The federal government bought the project when the proposed pipeline was on the verge of falling apart before there was ever a shovel in the ground in the face of legal, political, and regulatory challenges.
![For its next trick, Ottawa must unload the $34B Trans Mountain pipeline. It won't be easy](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7176903.1713390684!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/trans-mountain-delay-20170929.jpg)
![Pipes are seen at the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain facility in Edmonton, Alta., Thursday, April 6, 2017. Kinder Morgan Canada has asked the National Energy Board to waive an approval condition of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion because it might delay completion of the project. A complex arrangement of large, white pipes are seen against a blue sky.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7176903.1713390684!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/trans-mountain-delay-20170929.jpg)
The federal government bought the project when the proposed pipeline was on the verge of falling apart before there was ever a shovel in the ground in the face of legal, political, and regulatory challenges.