New premier, old strategy
Politics: Province’s first NDP throne speech as focused on opening markets as Redford was
Meet the new boss, in some ways remarkably the same as the old boss — at times almost word for word. With the provincial NDP government’s first throne speech on Monday, Premier Rachel Notley began disappointing the party’s core supporters in the environmental community by championing exports of Alberta oil to global markets as part of a Canadian energy strategy.
The statement echoed a similar call in the first throne speech from the Conservative government of premier Alison Redford in May 2012. It reinforced how little progress there has been on pipeline issues in the past three years, as well as the realities of the conflicting demands of governing in Alberta for politicians of all stripes.
For Notley, there is the added concern of alienating a core constituency of community and social activists that played a critical role in moving the NDP from opposition to government after four decades of Tory rule in oil-and-gas-rich Alberta.
“We must forge a partnership with our fellow provinces and with the federal government in order to build a Canadian energy strategy that ensures that a responsible Canadian energy industry can reach markets all around the world,” the government said in Monday’s throne speech.
The Redford government’s first throne speech said: “The industry depends just as much on access to new markets. So through the Canadian energy strategy, your government will pursue co-operation with other provinces and our neighbours to build the infrastructure to reach those markets.”
It hardly suggests a political revolution occurred on May 5.
To be fair, where Redford pledged to improve environmental monitoring on oil and gas as “Alberta’s prosperity cannot come at the expense of its beauty” Notley did acknowledge “the province needs to demonstrate real leadership on the environment and on climate change.”
Greenpeace Canada was quick to call out the discrepancy in Notley’s ambitions.
“The Canadian energy strategy can’t be about opening markets for the province’s fastest-growing source of carbon pollution — the tarsands,” climate campaigner Mike Hudema said. “It must be a clean energy strategy which charts the transition towards sustainable transportation and renewable energy. More than 100 scientists and economists recently called for an end to new tarsands development in order for Alberta to meaningfully act on climate change. We hope the new government heard them.”
The advice from Hudema didn’t take on the stature of Canadian Natural Resources’ chairman Murray Edwards warning Notley not to raise royalties on the oil and gas industry as it deals with a prolonged lowprice commodity environment, but the intent was the same.
Notley regularly spoke about environmental issues during the campaign and has pledged to release an update to elements of Alberta’s existing greenhouse gas emissions policies by June 30.
The politics is playing out as the UN climate conference approaches in December with seemingly daily warnings about the environmental catastrophe that looms for the planet without a massive reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.
During the provincial election campaign Notley said she wouldn’t support the Northern Gateway pipeline in B.C. or lobby for Keystone XL in the U.S. but she offered qualified support for the Energy East and Trans Mountain expansion projects linked to the oilsands.
Industry has complained transportation bottlenecks — largely a result of environmentalists holding up new pipelines — are undermining the economics of oil production in Western Canada and threaten to undermine long-term growth plans for the oilsands.
In question period on Tuesday, Notley refused to be drawn into the debate other than to acknowledge pipelines are the safest way to get energy to market.
Since the election, the premier and Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd have spoken often with oil and gas industry executives to better understand issues facing the industry and assuage fears the government has an anti-business agenda.
The throne speech suggested, to some extent, they heard what industry said on the need to “reach markets all around the world” to sustain investments in oilsands, or shale gas to feed into proposed LNG export terminals.
Notley has promised higher corporate taxes and a royalty review. At some point, the NDP has to work with the industry that drives Alberta’s economy and employs many of the bluecollar workers that also traditionally support the party.
Citizens expect a lot from politicians but their governments are hard pressed to deliver on promises when faced with the trade-offs required to implement policy in the real world. Environmentalists got their wish when Notley became premier but they need to get their heads out of their aspirations and temper the expectations about what she can do as premier.
“The province needs to demonstrate real leadership on the environment and on climate change."
RACHEL NOTLEY
PREMIER OF ALBERTA