There’s one thing Albertans can agree on – Alberta is hurting, and now it’s time for the rest of the country to support the province that has long been Canada’s economic powerhouse.
Yet, instead of finding that support, Alberta finds itself having salt poured in the wound, whether it’s actor Leonardo DiCaprio criticizing “the corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries,” or Quebec mayors rejecting the Energy East pipeline, saying it means minimal economic gain for their region but unacceptable environmental risk.
More than one person noted that Quebec politicians were biting the hand that feeds them, with that province receiving billions in equalization payments from have-provinces like Alberta over the years.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley seemed to fade into the background while Wildrose leader Brian Jean came out swinging, pointing to the hypocrisy of Montreal’s mayor on touting environmental protection, after the city was found to have dumped raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River last year.
The provincial and federal government need to be Alberta’s biggest supporters, to show the thousands of people who have lost their jobs or had their wages scaled back that they are ready to fight for them. Without showing that fighting edge, Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau risk looking like they simply don’t care about the economic driver for the country.
Luckily for Alberta, municipal politicians don’t decide whether projects like Energy East or Kinder Morgan’s similarly contentious $6.8 billion expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline go ahead. That approval depends on the National Energy Board, which has the responsibility to ensure the regulatory process is thorough in setting and meeting conditions, and the federal cabinet.
In the big picture, Canadians need to understand one thing when it comes to pipelines, that it’s a safe and efficient way to transport oil and it’s not just the lives of Albertans and their province’s economy that is at stake. The country needs to be united on touting a resource that brings jobs and wealth to the entire nation.
