David Staples: Will new $2-billion refinery be public investment fiasco or fortune?

The Alberta NDP promises to put up one billion in public dollars to back new oil refining in Alberta, even as there’s more bad news when it comes to government investment in business.
The Trudeau Liberals paid top dollar for the $4.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline, maybe one billion dollars too much, reports the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Expect many more hundreds of millions in losses if the pipeline expansion project is delayed for another year.
Other iffy deals? A new chapter in Alb