Premier Rachel Notley addressed a gathering in Calgary on Thursday where she shared some of the details of her recent pipeline meetings in Ontario.
Speaking at a conference of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Notley said that her meetings in Ontario were fruitful.
“When I’ve been speaking Canadians out east, to the moderate majority about what’s at stake, about the importance of our energy industry to the economic security of hundreds of thousands of working families across this country, and about how we can tackle climate change and at the same time support those all-important mortgage paying jobs, I actually find that the vast majority of Canadians listen to and support our position.”
She said that they know about the importance of Alberta as Canada’s economic engine and that the province must be the source for crude in the years to come instead of Venezuela and Russia, countries that have records of vastly increased emissions.
“Our oil industry is the cleanest and safest in the world and we have to be loud and proud about that,” she said.
She says without Alberta, a national climate plan would be completely out of the question.
“Alberta is the largest net fiscal contributor to the rest of the country even after and during the effects of the recession.”
Notley added that the province sends $22B more to Ottawa every year than we get in return because of the energy industry.
“The federal government can’t do its work for Canadians if it can’t pay for it and that’s the bottom line.”
Notley told the conference that she had a simple message to the Trudeau government during her visit.
“Step up. On two fronts, we need them. The NEB’s decision to include downstream emissions in evaluating pipeline proposals like it proposed to do with Energy East was a historic overreach, something that no industry in Canada is subject to.”
She said that the second front concerned the Trans Mountain Pipeline, a project that has face stiff opposition from a number of political and First Nations groups. Notley wants the Trudeau government to be on Alberta’s side.
“We need this project built and we need it built now.”
Notley called on the members of the gathering to use their influence to further the cause of pipelines in Alberta.
“When you’re out of the province, be east or west, I need you to make sure that everyone knows the huge value of Alberta’s energy industry brings to the country. There is not a school, there is not a hospital, there is not a road or a public bike lane anywhere in this country that doesn’t owe something to the hard working men and women of Alberta’s oil and gas sector.”
Notley will now be going to B.C. to meet with officials there and continue the discussion on pipelines.
