Alberta’s only NDP MP performs delicate dance with Notley over pipeline
Albertans might be keenly interested in the progress of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project — but not apparently the people in the federal riding of Edmonton Strathcona.
That bit of news comes from the riding ’s Member of Parliament, Linda Duncan, who also happens to be Alberta’s only federal NDP member.
“I have maybe had a handful of emails from people saying, you know, ‘Stand up for the pipeline,’” Duncan said in an interview Monday. “That is not the priority issue that people raise with me.”
It is a remarkable statement when you consider all we seem to talk about politically these days in Alberta is pipelines.
Except for, apparently, the people of Edmonton Strathcona.
Duncan says Premier Rachel Notley is “obsessed” with the Trans Mountain pipeline.
“That’s her political battle,” said Duncan. “That is not mine and I’m not going to get in the middle of that.”
But Duncan is in the middle of it, whether she likes it or not.
As Alberta’s only federal NDP MP, she is in a remarkably awkward spot.
She is caught in the middle of a spat between her federal leader, Jagmeet Singh, and Alberta’s NDP premier, Rachel Notley.
Notley is very much in favour of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project about to be purchased by the federal government.
Singh is very much opposed to it. Duncan is trying to be loyal to her party and her roots as an environmental lawyer. But she doesn’t want to sound critical of her provincial New Democratic colleague Notley.
Compounding the awkwardness for Duncan, she represents the federal riding of Edmonton Strathcona while Notley represents the provincial riding of Edmonton-Strathcona.
They speak for the same people (although Duncan’s federal riding is much larger and includes about 76,000 voters to Notley’s 33,000).
When talking about Notley, Duncan chooses her words carefully, like someone tiptoeing through a minefield.
CONTROVERSY
She is not keen to get drawn into the controversy sparked 10 days ago when Notley offered some barbed criticism of Singh’s anti-pipeline rhetoric.
“I am a New Democrat that comes from the part of the party that understands that you don’t bring about equality and fairness without focusing on jobs for regular working people,” said Notley. “To forget that and to throw them under the bus as collateral damage in pursuit of some other high level policy objective is a recipe for failure and it’s also very elitist.”
What does Duncan think of that?
“I don’t like that. I don’t think it needs to get personal like that. He has a responsibility as the leader of our party, the federal NDP and as the head of our caucus, to be representing what our party is saying.”
She hasn’t spoken to Notley directly but does have a message: “I totally understand the pressure on the premier and she’s doing the best that she can but we also need to have respect on both sides of the fence. Have you ever heard my leader ever say a negative thing about the premier? Never.”
Duncan and Notley might be in the same party but they seem to exist in different universes.
Here is a recent statement from Notley’s office: “Getting a pipeline built to Canadian tidewater is the most important, impactful thing we can do to support the economic recovery and help create good jobs. Rachel Notley knows that and that’s why she’s fighting every day to make sure this project is built.”
Duncan, on the other hand, said her constituents applaud when she talks about the need to protect the environment and consult with First Nations on energy projects.
She would never protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline, she added, but neither would she protest in favour.
“I would never stand up for a pipeline or a power plant or anything. I’ve never considered that my job. My focus is on the governments that are responsible for regulating (environmental protection). And this is a federally regulated pipeline and they have not done their job.”
Duncan has represented Edmonton Strathcona since 2008, winning election three times.
She said she’ll announce next week if she’ll run again in 2019.
She is a thoughtful politician trying to perform a balancing act as a federal NDP MP in Alberta.
She is passionate about the environment, but she might want to show a bit more passion for Alberta’s still-recovering economy other than, “I would never stand up for a pipeline.”