Saskatchewan premier’s ‘cordial’ meeting with deputy PM raises hope of a reset
REGINA – Premier Scott Moe came out of a meeting with Canada’s deputy prime minister far more upbeat than after speaking to her boss two weeks ago, despite getting no concrete commitments on divisive issues that have fuelled western resentment.
Chrystia Freeland took her listening tour to Saskatchewan on Tuesday, meeting with Moe and Regina Mayor Michael Fougere a day after a similar visit with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in Edmonton. Moe called his meeting with Freeland “good and cordial.” He said he raised his three-point new deal for Canada, which includes demands like a pause on the carbon tax that the federal government has already signalled it will not accept. The Tuesday meeting, which ran for about an hour and 45 minutes in Moe’s office, produced no major breakthrough but plenty of warm words.
“There were no commitments made,” Moe told reporters. “This was a listening meeting for the deputy prime minister, and understandably. She’s been on the job, I believe, for six days now.”
Freeland moved from the foreign ministry to intergovernmental affairs in last week’s cabinet shuffle. In her new post, she has the unenviable task of healing a festering rift with the premiers of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
But Moe detected what he called “a willingness to listen.” That’s much more than he said following a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on Nov. 12 , when he expressed disappointment to hear no change of direction on key issues.
While Moe said he hasn’t given up hope on getting a carbon-price pause, he told reporters that he is trying to be “realistic” about the federal position.
“I am realistic with respect to the outcomes that can be achieved,” he said. “But we had a good discussion around the new deal that we had proposed and what opportunities we have to collaborate.”
Freeland did not stop to talk with reporters before leaving the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. But she gave a brief address immediately before sitting down with the premier.
“The people of Saskatchewan sent a message to our government on election day,” she said.