Notley shrugs off federal NDP opposition to pipelines
Premier Rachel Notley said Friday that opposition to pipelines by the newly elected leader of the federal NDP has little bearing on the ongoing debate over the projects.
Jagmeet Singh made a campaign-style swing through Vancouver, where he reiterated that he is against both the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain line to the Pacific Coast and TransCanada’s recently shelved Energy East project.
Speaking to reporters in Calgary, Notley — whose Alberta NDP government has backed both pipelines — noted that Trans Mountain has already been approved by the federal government and suggested she wouldn’t lose much sleep over Singh’s position.
“I’m not going to get too wrapped up in what people who are not in government are doing in other parts of the country, in hypothetical conversations, over which they have no agency,” she said following an event at the Fairmont Palliser.
“I’m going to continue to promote the fact ... this is not just good for Alberta, it is good for all of Canada.”
Notley said Singh is also “absolutely wrong” to oppose pipelines over climate change issues, since Alberta initiatives such as a carbon levy and oilsands greenhouse gas emissions are addressing those concerns.
Notley’s NDP government wants pipelines to open new markets for Alberta’s oilsands crude and help the province get a better price for its natural resources as it continues to emerge from recession.
But British Columbia’s NDP government, which relies on the support of that province’s Greens, has said it will use what tools it has to try to block the Kinder Morgan line.
Singh said Friday that he has three criteria that must be met for any energy projects to be approved — that Indigenous rights are re- spected, that Canada can meet its climate change goals if the pipeline goes ahead, and that the projects prioritize local jobs.
He said neither Trans Mountain nor Energy East met those criteria in his estimation.
But Singh, who resigned his seat in the Ontario legislature Friday, praised Notley for her government’s work in areas such as raising the province’s minimum wage and its sweeping climate change plan.
“It needs to be pointed out, Premier Notley has the most aggressive and comprehensive climate change policy in Canada. We won’t achieve our climate goals if we don’t have a premier like Rachel Notley in Alberta,” said Singh.
Singh said that with “two incredible New Democrat governments” in B.C. and Alberta, he’s confident they will all be able to work together.
“It’s important to acknowledge all we have in common” on other issues, he said.