The outcome was far from certain after the
committee that studied the legislation recommended against passing the
Liberal plan. The committee issued a scathing report this week saying
that, if passed, the bill would stoke a nascent separatist movement in
Western Canada, and accused the government of unfairly targeting
Alberta’s oilpatch at a time of constrained pipeline capacity and
cratering oil prices.

The strongly worded report — penned by the
committee’s chair, Conservative Saskatchewan Sen. David Tkachuk —
prompted a backlash of sorts Wednesday night from other senators who
called it overly partisan.