The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that last week the federal and Alberta governments said tens of billions of taxpayer dollars will be used to build a bitumen pipeline to the Pacific Coast. A Globe editorial says that while the pipeline's initial predicted cost of $43.7-billion is concerning, its construction is positive news. The proposed pipeline would terminate at Roberts Bank in the southern Lower Mainland, allowing superlarge tankers to load up with Alberta bitumen and sail to Asian markets. A pipeline to the West Coast would alleviate price pressures, increase oil sector revenues and boost royalties and tax income for provincial and federal governments. Not to mention the boost from the construction of the pipeline. New pipeline capacity in Alberta will encourage oil-production expansion, leading to increased capital spending and boosting Canada's GDP for years. The GDP numbers are impressive, but by themselves, they don't justify the use of public dollars. Neither does the narrative from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith that the proposed pipeline will turn tidy profits for the province: Taken far enough, that's an argument for wholesale government ownership of, well, anything and everything.