Bell: Smith to Carney Liberals on Pipelines – ‘Stop Speaking in Riddles’

“We need to stop speaking in riddles and be more blunt — Canada wants to be an energy superpower, including in oil and gas.”

The words are from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Smith is banging the drum.

She wants Prime Minister Mark Carney to stop stickhandling around the issue and face the music.

The Liberals have been attacking Alberta oil and gas for years.

It has to stop now and Carney has to step up and back the oilpatch and its expansion.

After all, it was the prime minister who went on about how Canada should be an energy superpower, including oil and gas.

Then again, Carney has also served up many word salads where no one knows what’s up and what’s down.

During the election campaign when Carney was given the opportunity in Calgary to make himself clear about where oil and gas stands in his books he couldn’t manage a straight answer.

This coming Friday, Tim Hodgson will be in Calgary talking to city business types.

The oilpatch movers and shakers say Hodgson, Carney’s newly minted point man on energy, knows oil and gas.

He is their kind of guy. Surely with such rave reviews from the downtown Calgary office towers the man should be bringing along some good news.

What does Premier Smith hope he says?

She hopes Hodgson says the Carney Liberal government backs Alberta’s energy industry and will work towards increasing oil and gas production, not phasing it out.

She hopes the Carney Liberals will support a new bitumen pipeline to the west coast, to the B.C. port of Prince Rupert.

This past Friday, in a story newshounds didn’t touch, Smith talked about shipping heavy oil to Asia, to places like South Korea where they love it and want more of it.

The premier wants a pipeline to Prince Rupert fast-tracked for approval, not stonewalled out of existence.

Big money will not invest if they’re facing years of getting screwed around before even getting to the start line.

Other moves by Carney would have to follow if he is up for a pipeline to the west coast.

To get the oil to Asia, the tanker ban would have to be lifted. Since there would be more production the Liberal emissions cap on oil and gas would have to be given the heave-ho.

Smith says if Carney plays ball it would show he is serious and not just talking to win elections.

“We should focus on reducing emissions intensity through technology and displacing coal with Alberta oil and gas in other parts of the world,” adds Smith.

While we’re on about pipelines, Smith met with Carney’s budget boss Francois-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday in Calgary.

Smith says the meeting was “constructive” and she did bring up “the strategic importance of the port of Prince Rupert as Canada’s gateway to access Asian markets.”

Yes, the premier pushed for “a bitumen pipeline and a deep-water port off the coast of Prince Rupert.”

Carney needs to wake up. He can’t go around bloviating about what he could do instead of laying out what his government will do.

The prime minister also really needs to tell the green guru Steven Guilbeault to zip it.

If there is one politician who does damage to the unity of this country every single time he opens his pie hole it is Guilbeault, the former Greenpeace man on a mission.

Enter Fort McMurray’s own Brian Jean, the Alberta energy minister.

Jean sees a pipeline to the west coast and Prince Rupert as a big deal.

Jobs, prosperity and quality of life are at stake.

Jean also mentions the Smith government wants to double oil production. They need to get to Asia.

People want to buy what Alberta has to sell. Oil and gas will grow Canada’s economy. It’s so simple you would think even a Liberal could figure it out.

And if Alberta gets stiffed again by another Liberal government?

“There’s no question Albertans are frustrated right now. I’ve never seen frustration at a higher level in Alberta than I’ve seen now,” says Jean.

If Jean was speaking to Carney and his crew what would he say in support of the pipeline?

“It would release the pressure somewhat,” he says.

The pressure?

“The frustrations. The people in Alberta frustrated with Confederation.”

In Alberta, we all know what Jean is talking about.

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