Foes to best pipeline buddies
One of the last decisions Jim Prentice made as a federal cabinet minister was the first thing Christy Clark tried to overturn when she became premier of B.C. in 2011.
Prentice was the environment minister who turned thumbs down on the Prosperity mine near Williams Lake in late 2010. It created an embarrassing mess in B.C., because provincial authorities had looked at exactly the same proposal and given it the green light.
He said the gold-copper mine would result in the “destruction of Fish Lake and the destruction of a complex and highly productive ecosystem” that included an entire watercourse. It wasn’t what B.C. wanted to hear. Clark became premier four months later, and getting the mine back on track was the No. 1 issue at her first meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She got nowhere with that mission, and the mine is hung up in a legal fight.
There’s no record of what she thought of Prentice back then — he left politics shortly after to become a bank executive. But the two were on good terms Monday when they met as equals: premiers of B.C. and Alberta.
Clark’s pleasure at welcoming him was likely tinged with relief. Whatever differences they had in the past, Prentice might be easier to deal with than his predecessor, Alison Redford, with whom Clark sparred publicly over the concept of getting Alberta’s oil to the West Coast.
At one point, Clark laid down the five conditions for B.C. to approve an oil pipeline at a meeting in Redford’s office that ended about five seconds after she outlined the last condition (more money for B.C.). Clark was asked how it went. “Frosty,” was her response.
Redford later self-destructed over her exorbitant spending habits, and Prentice stepped up to replace her, winning the leadership two months ago in a walk.
Prentice’s trip to Vancouver was his first official visit outside Alberta, which hints that getting oil to the coast is still one of his province’s top priorities. But they weren’t interested in discussing the issue publicly at length. There was much more emphasis on relationship-building, with much talk of frank candour and mutual respect.
Clark said: “There hasn’t been a premier in Alberta’s history who has understood B.C.’s uniqueness as much as Premier Prentice does. That’s going to be a huge benefit to all of us.”
It doesn’t take any particular insights on Prentice’s part to understand what he’s up against.
Protesters are logging lots of media play by taking on pipeline company Kinder Morgan in Burnaby.
The fuss is over preliminary survey work there for a line that would be the answer to Alberta’s dreams.
He said after the meeting with Clark the two spent a great deal of time on the Asian opportunities both provinces could work together in pursuing.
“Alberta and B.C. can reach to Asia and provide what the world wants,” he said.
He cited liquefied natural gas up front, but there’s no doubt oil is on his mind as well.
Alberta is “very supportive of LNG, and we’ll do everything we can to advocate for these kinds of projects.”
He also recognized the importance of “the environmental regime off the West Coast of Canada.”
Part of Prentice’s grounding in B.C. affairs came earlier this year. He was seconded from the bank to be the Northern Gateway pipeline’s point man on aboriginal relations. He spent two months at it before deciding to run for the Alberta premiership.
Just So You Know: The Williams Lake mine wasn’t the first time Prentice had quashed something in B.C. A national first ministers meeting in the Okanagan in 2005 produced the “Kelowna Accord,” a visionary meeting of the minds on a grand plan to address aboriginal problems. But the federal Liberal government fell three days later, and the Conservatives took power. Prentice was named Indian Affairs minister and made responsible for erasing the accord while the ink was still wet.
Now, ironically enough, he needs a pipeline that needs First Nations’ buy-in in a big way.
Les Leyne covers the legislature for the Victoria Times Colonist. Email: lleyne@timescolonist.com.