Environment Secretary Steven Guilbeault faces both a personal and political challenge as he seeks to advance the government’s climate change agenda despite stiff opposition from a newly re-elected government in Alberta.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was “very frustrated with the attitude” Guilbeault has taken towards her province. In her election night victory speech, she said she would not allow the federal government to impose policies on Alberta that she believes are detrimental to the province’s energy sector.
In an interview with CBCs The House Guilbeault, which aired Saturday, emphasized that the federal government is successfully working with Alberta on a number of issues, including biodiversity and tailing pond remediation.
When asked about Smith’s comments, Guilbeault struck a conciliatory tone.
“I wouldn’t say things are great,” he said. “I say we have our differences, but we also have the capacity to work them out.”
Breaking:: The House16:02The next round in the fight between Alberta and Ottawa begins
Danielle Smith’s victory in this week’s provincial election in Alberta sets the stage for more conflict between the province and the federal government over energy and climate change policies. Environment Secretary Steven Guilbeault speaks with host Catherine Cullen about whether he and Smith can get on the same wavelength. Guilbeault also weighs in on how Canada can handle a destructive wildfire season, after which Emily Croft, a captain with the Hubbards, NS volunteer fire department, describes her team’s experience battling the blaze.
Smith was particularly critical of the federal government’s planned emissions cap for the oil and gas industry, which is expected to be in effect by the end of the year. Smith called it a “de facto production limit” and claimed it would devastate Alberta’s economy.
“I am very optimistic that we will solve the problem with technology,” Smith told CBC’s Power & Politics earlier this week. “But if you short-circuit that and try to reach an unattainable goal too early, you’re driving investment away.”
Guilbeault said it’s government regulation that has helped drive that technology development.
“I mean, what will drive technology investment in decarbonization is regulation,” he said. “By putting smart regulation in place, we’re making sure that those investments are made in a way that we have jobs in Alberta in the energy sector 20 years, 25 years, 30 years down the line.”
Guilbeault added that upcoming draft regulations for an emissions cap will be open for comment and conversation.
“But we need (the emissions cap) for a number of different reasons,” he said. “In a carbon-constrained world, we still need some oil even through 2050. But what those people who are still buying oil and gas are looking for is oil with a very low carbon footprint.”
Guilbeault also suggested that, beyond the public eye, there is room for cooperation with outwardly confrontational governments.
“I think we have to distinguish between what is said in public and when we sit down, when there is no camera, when there are no journalist(s),” he said. “People are usually very reasonable and get down to business.”
Hovering over the policy debate on climate change is the Alberta Sovereignty Act, passed by the Smith administration late last year. The legislation was announced because it allowed Alberta to ignore federal laws.
Guilbeault said the idea of forcing Alberta to comply with new policy pieces such as the emissions cap “is not a conversation I want to have,” adding that his government is still in consultation.
The environment secretary said that despite the provinces’ initial opposition to the federal carbon tax, each jurisdiction has since complied with that policy — either by creating their own systems or adhering to the federal backstop.
“I’m not saying everyone is happy, I’m saying everyone is,” Guilbeault said.
Green technology hopes for the involvement of all parties
The debate between the federal government and some Conservative prime ministers over climate policy comes as governments across the country are spending billions of dollars on clean energy investments in an increasingly competitive international environment.
A group of industry executives gathered in Ottawa this week to tell politicians that support for green technologies needs to be stepped up even further. The meeting included a concerted effort to reach out to the federal conservative opposition.
Speak against The Housesaid Jeff Cyr, CEO of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, that a multi-party approach is the most sensible given that governments come and go on shorter timescales than many large capital projects.
Breaking:: The House11:51Subsidy for the green revolution
Dozens of companies and groups associated with clean technology were in Ottawa this week to make their case for politicians and workers under the banner of “New Economy Canada.” Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, vice president of corporate relations at Innergex, and Jeff Cyr (Sear), CEO of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, share why they believe the government should subsidize the green revolution.
“The issue of the energy transition is a long-term issue. It’s been around for decades… So why limit it to the current ruling party? That doesn’t seem strategically wise to me. So you talk to all parties. For me it’s in that context an impartial matter,” he said.
“In the end, we’re making hundreds of millions of dollars investing in multi-decade projects. So we need to know that there’s a sense of sustainability in this country so that it’s a place that can attract our capital.” , unlike in other parts of the world,” said Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, vice president at Innergex Renewable Energy.
“The opportunity is there if we choose to grab it, but we have to choose to grab it and we have to be conscious about it as a country.”
