The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Ottawa has backstopped $3-billion more in debt for the Crown-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline. The Globe's Jeffrey Jones writes that according to Export Development Canada's website, Ottawa is guaranteeing $1.75-billion to $2-billion of financing provided by commercial lenders. That followed a guarantee for $750-million to $1-billion of debt in late March. The guarantees are listed within the Canada Account, which includes transactions that are too risky for EDC under its usual course of business. The government approved the loan guarantees after backstopping another $10-billion in financing last year. In March, Trans Mountain said the estimated costs for its expansion had ballooned to $30.9-billion, up from the initial $7.4-billion that former owner Kinder Morgan forecast in 2017. A spokesman for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government plans to start the process of divesting itself from the pipeline "in due course." The spokesman said, "The project remains commercially viable, and there is strong interest from investors in high quality, operational infrastructure assets like the Trans Mountain expansion project."