Nov. 23, 2011 - Issue #840: Battle the world
Political Interference
Are we walking or talking?
Premier Redford contradicts her words with her actions
During her campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, Premier Alison Redford articulated that, when it came to her plan for energy, she felt that "the Premier of Alberta must have a vision for the future and an actual game plan to deliver it."
Unfortunately, Redford's vision for the province's energy is not very clear, and it doesn't appear she really has much of an actual game plan for how to move forward. In fact, her various statements and actions with regard to energy, and the tar sands in particular, have been anything but consistent.
On November 9, the Government of Alberta issued a press release with two purposes. The first was to announce that the following week the Premier would be making her first official visit to the United States to speak to and meet with think tanks and policy makers. The second was to announce the appointment of former Calgary mayor Dave Bronconnier as the province's new interim envoy to the United States.
Redford justified both the trip and the appointment of Bronconnier by saying that "the US spotlight is on Alberta right now because of the tar sands and we need a strategic and proactive approach to ensure our side of the story is getting through to decision-makers." By the time the delegation reached Washington, though, the US government had already announced that the Keystone XL Pipeline would be delayed until after the 2012 election and it was clear that promoting the pipeline and Alberta bitumen to our southern neighbours was at the top of the premier's agenda. Redford has also made clear on numerous occasions that one of her ultimate goals is a North American energy strategy which would secure the US market for Alberta over the long term.
This was reinforced when, in light of the US decision on Keystone, the government issued another press release in which Redford was quoted as saying, "My government will continue to advocate that we are the safest, most secure and responsible source of oil for the United States." In the same press release she expressed her hope that the government's decision was not based on "rhetoric and hyperbole from very well-organized interest groups."
None of this is surprising in and of itself. The Alberta government has spent millions of dollars lobbying the US government on behalf of the province's oil and gas industry and ensuring that Alberta oil continued to flow south and money continued to flow to energy corporations.
What is surprising, however, is that at the same time Redford and Bronconnier were working to promote Alberta oil in the US, the premier was making statements about the need for Alberta to overcome our dependence on the US market for our oil exports. The way to do this, of course, is to build up infrastructure like the incredibly controversial Northern Gateway pipeline, which would take Alberta oil to the west coast for export to growing Asian markets.
What was even more surprising was that upon her return to Canada from this advocacy and promotion trip, she chastised New Democrat MPs for having gone to Washington to speak to US politicians about their opposition to the pipeline, and her assertion that Canadian politicians had no business lobbying American politicians one way or the other.
Her statements were especially confusing given that just the day before she had asserted in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada that, "We need to put all antagonisms behind us," and that we cannot "shy away from criticism and disagreement." She also articulated that governments need to listen to environmental groups and First Nations, and that when it comes to an energy policy, environmental sustainability is the most important shared outcome.
So, if we're to piece together Redford’s vision and action plan for an Alberta energy strategy based on her statements and actions of the last few weeks, this is what it might look like:
• The Alberta government will continue to advocate in Washington on behalf of the Alberta energy industry, but Canadian politicians have no business trying to influence US energy policy.
• We want the Keystone XL pipeline built, and want a North American energy strategy which will secure an increased role for Alberta oil in the US market, but we need to reduce our dependence on the US market for our oil.
• We need to listen to environmental and First Nations groups, and not shy away from criticism, but we need a strong presence in Washington to counteract the "rhetoric and hyperbole" of those same groups.
•Environmental sustainability needs to be our most important shared outcome, but we need to continue to expand tar sands exports and build pipelines to the west coast through small communities, First Nations lands, and some of the country's most sensitive ecological areas.
Premier Redford is to be applauded for her understanding that Alberta and Canada need an energy strategy and vision, especially in light of the fact that our current strategy consists only of digging up the bitumen and selling it as fast as we can despite the environmental, health and economic impacts. But Albertans need their premier to come clean on exactly what kind of energy strategy she wants, because right now it seems like she's busy telling everybody what they want to hear regardless of how contradictory those messages might be. V
Ricardo Acuña is the executive director of the Parkland Institute, a non-partisan, public policy research institute housed at the University of Alberta.
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