PM GETS ROUGH RECEPTION
Calgary protesters demand action
The price discount hammering Alberta oil is a “crisis,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Calgary on Thursday, one the federal government is committed to working with industry to help solve.
But Trudeau declined to lay out specific measures for tackling the steep differential for Canadian crude, saying the problem — which he acknowledged costs the country ’s economy $80 million per day — is a difficult one with no easy solutions.
The prime minister was on a whirlwind trip to Calgary to meet with municipal and business leaders, one day after Finance Minister Bill Morneau released the federal government’s fall economic update.
While approximately 2,000 demonstrators stood outside waving placards emblazoned with “Build the pipeline” and “Kill Bill C-69,” Trudeau was in a downtown hotel ballroom telling a Calgary Chamber of Commerce audience that he empathizes with the plight of Albertans who are having a hard time making ends meet and are nervous about what comes next.
“I want you to know that I feel that frustration. And I understand that anxiety. The status quo cannot continue,” he said.
Trudeau said his government is working to improve market access for landlocked Canadian oil producers by doing everything in its power to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built. He said he is committed to building the pipeline the “right” way by following the blueprint laid out by the federal Court of Appeals earlier this fall, and is hopeful construction will begin by spring 2019.
The prime minister also said the Liberal government has heeded the call of business leaders concerned about competitiveness by introducing a new measure on Wednesday that will allow companies to write off for tax purposes the full cost of machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing and processing of goods. He said that is something the energy industry had specifically asked for to address a perceived widening tax disadvantage against U.S. firms.
However, the prime minister did not provide a direct answer when asked by reporters if his government would heed the call of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and invest in rail cars to increase crude-by-rail capacity. He hedged once again when Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Sandip Lalli asked him the same question in a Q and A session, adding there is no single solution that will solve the differential problem and get Canada’s energy industry back on its feet.
“It’s like you think there’s a super simple easy answer, there’s not,” Trudeau said. “This is a multifaceted complex problem.”
Mark Cooper, spokesman for the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said he felt the crowd in the room for the prime minister’s speech was “polite, which is what you would expect from a Calgary business crowd.” But he said the sheer size of the protest outside — which forced the Calgary Police Service to temporarily shut down a portion of Centre Street to traffic — indicates the deep concern that exists in the city over the lack of market access and what it is doing to the province’s primary industry.
Cooper added that the Chamber was disappointed the prime minister didn’t have any specific proposals to announce Wednesday, other than his pledge to continue listening to industry.
“You have to give him (Trudeau) credit for standing in the pocket — we are genuinely encouraged that he chose Calgary as his first stop after the economic update,” Cooper said. “However, businesses in this city are looking for urgency and action, rather than platitudes — and we didn’t really see a lot of concrete action today.”
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. executive vice-chair Steve Laut, who was in the room for Trudeau’s speech and was one of a group of energy sector leaders who met privately with the prime minister later in the day, said the scale of the protest outside is an indication of how desperate the situation is.
“Albertans get along with everybody pretty well. You don’t normally see that sort of thing happen,” Laut told reporters. “I do appreciate they (the federal government) stepped in and bought TMX to make it happen. So it’s not like they’re doing nothing … but it’s not going to solve the situation today.
“He (Trudeau) made it very clear he understands the concerns of the industry. He understands what’s going on,” said Cenovus Energy Inc. CEO Alex Pourbaix. “We’ve got to do everything we can to get TMX over the finish line.”
Sara Herlevsen, a Calgary health care worker who waved a sign declaring “I support 2 million Canadians who work in our natural resource sector,” said she attended the downtown demonstration to make it clear to Trudeau that he must listen to Albertans.
“Come out and talk to us and hear what we have to say,” Herlevsen said, adding she was surprised at how many of her fellow Calgarians took to the street Thursday to express their concerns. “It was a very impressive show of solidarity. Which is why I want him (Trudeau) to pay attention.”