Alberta premier proclaims bill to ‘turn off taps’ in newspaper op-ed
Posted April 30, 2019 7:45 pm.
Last Updated May 1, 2019 5:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (NEWS 1130) – Just eight hours after becoming Alberta’s newest premier, Jason Kenney upped the stakes in the ongoing oil battle between British Columbia and his province.
His United Conservative Party proclaimed legislation on Tuesday that would allow Alberta to cut off the oil taps to B.C., with Kenney making the announcement in an op-ed published in the Vancouver Sun and other Postmedia papers.
In it, the new premier says Bill 12, the legislation to cut off oil to B.C., has been proclaimed by cabinet.
He wrote that the Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act would give the Alberta government the ability to cut oil shipments but, he says “We did not proclaim this law to reduce energy shipments to B.C.”
The United Conservative leader had promised repeatedly during his campaign that if he was elected he would stop sending oil to B.C. for the west coast province’s opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The controversial project has strained the relationship between the two provinces for months.
Bill 12 is intended to “ensure the interests of Albertans are optimized before authorizing the export of natural gas, crude oil or refined fuels.” The bill was introduced and passed by the previous NDP government, but never proclaimed into law.
Kenney said the UCP needs the power to protect “Alberta’s ability to get a return on their resources,” and that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is in the interest of all Canadians.
Kenney also appeared to target the Vancouver audience by talking about expensive gas prices and what needs to be done to address rising costs.
B.C. Attorney General David Eby has threatened to take Alberta to court if the bill is proclaimed.
“If (Kenney) does do that, our lawyers are ready to go to court because we believe this law is unconstitutional and we would be challenging it as soon as it is proclaimed into law,” Eby said Tuesday. “There is a provision in the constitution that you can’t restrict the flow of refined products between provinces.”
The Alberta premier has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday morning, entitled “Fighting for jobs, the economy and pipelines.” He will be appearing at 8:30 a.m. PST with Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage.
The UCP leader defeated the New Democrats in the provincial election on April 16th, when the United Conservatives won 63 seats to the NDP’s 24.
He is Alberta’s 18th premier.
