New natural resources minister a ‘ bridge builder’
The federal Liberal government’s new natural resources minister may be unknown to Alberta’s oilpatch, but Jim Carr is drawing praise as a “bridge- builder” from some quarters.
Carr, the rookie MP for Winnipeg South Centre named to cabinet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, is a former provincial politician and president of the Business Council of Manitoba.
He also was a founding board member of the Canada West Foundation, and the current president of that organization, Dylan Jones, said Carr was a “really great choice” for the portfolio.
“We need a minister who can rebuild public support for responsible development of our resources and Jim Carr is that minister,” said Jones in an interview.
“He is a bridge- builder ... and he’s a politician who will get out there and sell a tough agenda.”
There will be no shortage of energy related issues facing the 64- year- old Carr in his new role.
Oil prices that once bolstered the Canadian economy have slumped over the last year. Pipeline projects remain stalled in the face of staunch environmental opposition on both sides of the U. S.- Canada border.
The new Liberal government supports TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline to connect Alberta’s oilsands to the United States Gulf Coast, but the project appears in jeopardy of being rejected by the Obama administration.
On Wednesday, the U. S. State Department turned down TransCanada’s request to pause its review of the pipeline.
“This is a very important issue facing the country,” Carr said in brief comments to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday. “And I’ll be looking forward to have a chance to look at it thoroughly.”
Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said he had to Google Carr’s name to find out who he was, but believes the industry can work with the new minister.
“Our priorities haven’t changed: The ability to get our products to market ... ( and) ensuring we are competitive with other jurisdictions around the world, especially at this time where world prices are low, “said McMillan, head of the oil industry’s main lobby group.
While the Liberals have backed Keystone, they oppose Enbridge’s Northern Gateway line to the Pacific Coast.
Another proposed project, TransCanada’s Energy East line, is relatively early in the federal regulatory process.
Jones noted Carr was deeply involved with the Winnipeg Consensus, a 2009 meeting of Canadian think- tanks that began the push for a national energy strategy, a cause now championed by the Alberta government.
He also provides some western Canadian counter- balance in a cabinet where the major economic portfolios — such as Finance and International Trade — are held by central Canadians, said Jones.
Premier Rachel Notley’s official statement congratulating the new cabinet mentioned climate change, but not other energy issues.
She told reporters that is because the international climate change conference in Paris is only a few weeks away, but insisted pipelines and market access are high on the agenda for discussions with the new federal government.
“The recovery of our energy industry and our ability to get our product to tidewater is not only important to the people of the province, but it is important to the Canadian economy as a whole,” said Notley.