Large delegation to take ‘fair deal’ fight to Ottawa
Kenney, several UCP cabinet ministers to meet with their federal counterparts
EDMONTON Premier Jason Kenney and 18 cabinet ministers and civil servants are heading to Ottawa next week to ask the federal government to act now on “priority urgent” issues to the province.
“The message that I will be carrying on behalf of Albertans to Ottawa next week is that we need to see action,” Kenney told reporters at a Friday news conference. “And we are not seeking a special deal. We are seeking a fair deal.”
Kenney said he wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to commit to a fixed completion date for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, which will nearly triple the volume of oil it can move from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C. When previous pipeline owner Kinder Morgan became spooked by court challenges, the Trudeau government bought the pipeline last year for $4.5 billion.
In light of Canadian premiers’ unanimity earlier this week that federal transfers need a bigger cushion from economic volatility, Kenney will request the federal government retroactively lift a per-capita cap on the federal fiscal stabilization program.
He’s asking for five years’ worth of rebates that add up to $2.4 billion.
He’s “hopeful” the federal government is open to a discussion about program reform, he said. A refund would be a fair compromise, given Alberta’s outsized contribution to equalization and social programs in other provinces, he said Friday.
If the rest of Canada wants to continue to benefit from Alberta’s oil and gas revenues, “Ottawa needs to unleash us to be able to develop our resources, get to global markets, get a fair price from them and not tie us down with an endless number of new laws and regulations that inhibit our responsible resource sector,” he said.
Kenney called again for Trudeau to revisit Bill C-69, proclaimed into law in August, which changes environmental assessments for large energy projects, and a tanker ban off B.C.’S north coast that Kenney says disproportionately targets Alberta. The Alberta government is challenging Bill C-69 in court.
Among “several dozen” items on Kenney’s wish list are a strategy to give Indigenous communities a stake in oil pipeline projects, funds for orphan well reclamation and an equivalency agreement for Alberta’s methane regulations.
The delegation includes Finance Minister Travis Toews, Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, Energy Minister Sonya Savage, Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen, Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson and Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz. They will be joined by 10 deputy ministers and other senior officials.
Kenney will give a speech Monday at the Canadian Club of Ottawa, followed by a meeting with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. On Tuesday, he’ll meet with conservative leader Andrew Scheer, Alberta’s conservative MPS and Prime
The message that I will be carrying on behalf of Albertans to Ottawa next week is that we need to see action.
Minister Justin Trudeau.
Alberta ministers and deputy ministers will meet with their federal counterparts, Kenney said. Kenney will return to Calgary Tuesday night. The government does not yet have a cost estimate for the delegation’s trip.
Deron Bilous, NDP critic for economic development, trade and tourism, said Friday that taking a third of cabinet to Ottawa is a “publicity stunt” that wastes tax dollars and is unlikely to yield success.
“The province has a great deal of ability to influence both job creation and also support from the federal government,” Bilous told reporters. “This premier’s approach has been totally antagonistic, picking a fight with Ottawa. I don’t, as of yet, see the benefits of their current approach.”
Bilous said Kenney should be taking more steps to diversify Alberta’s economy by investing in innovation, which is also favoured by the federal government.
Alberta’s dependence on oil and gas was also a factor cited by Moody’s as it downgraded the province’s credit rating earlier this week.
The United Conservative Party government cut Alberta Innovates’ budget by about 27 per cent.
It was “short sighted” for the government to eliminate tax credits for clean technology and digital animation companies, Bilous said.