New Brunswick politicians take aim at Ottawa over energy corridor

FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government continued to hurl insults at the federal government Thursday, with the province's energy minister berating Defence Minister Peter MacKay for being "out of touch" and lacking decency.
And even Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams entered the growing war of words over Atlantic Canadian energy projects, dismissing Premier Shawn Graham's remarks that started the row as inflated political rhetoric.
Williams also said Graham's recent protectionist stance won't prevent his province from exporting power through New Brunswick to the United States.
Energy Minister Jack Keir added fuel to the growing controversy, standing in the legislature to blast MacKay for comments the Nova Scotia MP made on Wednesday.
"The regional federal minister, who has New Brunswick under his wing, has said: `The heck with New Brunswick, we'll bypass them.' That's hardly co-operation. It's hardly a regional approach," Keir said.
"He's obviously out of touch."
The day before, MacKay refuted Graham's assertion that the federal government is "Johnny-come-lately" in helping energy developments in the region.
And MacKay, the region's senior cabinet minister, said Graham's defensive stance in guarding New Brunswick's electrical power grid won't stop other Atlantic provinces from shipping electricity to the U.S.
"We've been working on this for two years," MacKay said in Ottawa. "We could always just bypass New Brunswick and go through Maine."