Smith picks veterans of the oil industry to give advice on the province’s energy future
Alberta’s premier has penned a letter saying that she will work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on some climate and energy projects if Ottawa agrees to certain conditions.
The letter was sent after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met on February 7. Smith said that during the meeting, the prime minister said he was willing to work together to bring investment and workers into Alberta’s energy sectors while reducing Canada’s and Alberta’s net emissions.
In a letter released Thursday, Smith said that the province is ready to work with the federal government on a coordinated approach for a carbon capture, use, and storage incentive program to reduce net emissions.
Smith wrote that this coordination comes with a “condition that cannot be changed.”
The premier wants Ottawa to stop passing new federal laws or policies that would affect Alberta’s oil and gas resource development, management, or workforce participation without the “full involvement, consultation, and consent of Alberta.”
Smith said that the condition includes passing “just transition” laws and putting the federal Emissions Reduction Plan’s goals and measures into place.
“Just transition” is an idea that came out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was signed in 2015. The goal is to make sure that workers don’t get hurt as much when economies switch from high-carbon activities to green ones.
Smith has written an open letter to the federal government before. Just a few weeks ago, before she met with Trudeau,Smith wrote to the leader of the country. on the same issue.
Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, said in Smith’s most recent letter that he set conditions that would be hard for the federal government to meet if they wanted to reach their own policy goals.
“It basically says that Alberta should be able to stop the federal government from doing anything in this area,” Young said.
Young also said that she doesn’t think trying to bring up a precondition is the best way to start a conversation, but that it shows how Smith has to walk a fine line.
She said, “On the one hand, there are Alberta voters who would like to see her be more friendly toward the federal government.”
“But at the same time, she has a large group of supporters who want her to stand up to Ottawa and draw a line in the sand.”
Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said that Smith has been very vocal about how she thinks the federal government should act in areas that she thinks should be handled by the provinces.
“To be honest, some of the worries she brings up are ones that most Albertans would share,” she said.
In response to the letter, Alberta NDP energy critic Kathleen Ganley said in a statement Thursday that the premier “should have been at the table months ago” to fight for jobs that pay well.
“Instead, she’s been all about dangerous and extreme ideas and hasn’t put the needs of the energy sector or the people of Alberta at the top of her list.”
Rachel Notley, leader of the NDP in Alberta, has also said in the past that she wants the federal government to drop its plans to pass “just transition” legislation.
Alberta hires oil industry veterans to help plan its energy future
Also on Thursday, Smith announced that her government would be getting advice from five oil industry veterans about the future of Alberta’s energy industry.
David Yager, who has been writing about the oil patch for a long time, will be in charge of the panel.
Yager was also a candidate for the Wildrose Party, which is one of the groups that came together to form the United Conservative Party, which Smith now leads.
Hal Kvisle is on the board of Cenovus Energy and has run several other energy companies. He is one of the other people on the panel.
Bob Curran used to run the Alberta Energy Regulator as a director.
Arnett and Burgess Pipelines is run by Carey Arnett, who is the president.
Phil Hodge is in charge of Pine Cliff Energy as its president.
The panel will meet with government ministries and people in the industry, but Smith doesn’t say anything about consulting the public or outside experts.
Smith says that the panel’s job is to tell the government how Alberta can meet the world’s energy needs in the future. The 30th of June is the deadline for the final report.