Editing Pipeline Debate (section)

==Background==
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.&nbsp;D. Howe]], decided to allow [[TransCanada PipeLines, LP]] to build a gas pipeline from the west to the east. St. Laurent and Howe favoured a longer, more expensive route, entirely through Canadian territory, rejecting the route of the American oil pipeline, which was shorter but crossed into the United States on its way to [[Eastern Canada]]. The parliamentary debate on the issue focused on two issues:
*A consortium that included American interests required government loans to cover the extra costs incurred by building the long route.
*Whether involving American businesses in the construction would inevitably lead to the government surrendering the pipeline to American control.

The [[parliamentary opposition|opposition]] [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]] and [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] planned to delay the plan with a [[filibuster]].