Christy Clark praises Alberta premier's 'courage' on pipeline issue

B.C.'s Premier says her Alberta counterpart did theright thing in going to the West Coast to speak about a controversial oil pipeline.

Christy Clark says it took courage for Rachel Notley to visit B.C. to promote Kinder Morgan's 6.8-billion dollar Trans Mountainpipeline expansion project.

Notley was in Vancouverearlier this week, speaking to the media aboutthe project and meeting with B.C.'s Opposition New Democrat LeaderJohn Horgan, who opposes the pipeline expansion.

The project will triple capacity of the pipeline, which carries oil from near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., and has faced fierceopposition from some environmental groups, First Nations andmunicipal leaders.

The federal government approved the project last week and Clark says her government will follow if all five of its conditions aremet.

She says her government is still working with Ottawa on spillresponse and is preparing to negotiate an economic benefits packagewith Kinder Morgan that reflects the risks the pipeline and anincrease in tanker traffic would present for B.C.