What does Alberta Premier Danielle Smith want? What does Smith want right now? Read More
’The project I’ve been looking at is a revival of the Northern Gateway project to the port of Prince Rupert,’ says Premier Danielle Smith
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants the Carney government to make a pipeline to Prince Rupert on the west coast
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What does Alberta Premier Danielle Smith want? What does Smith want right now?
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What does she want from Prime Minister Mark Carney?
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Smith presented Carney with nine demands. She wants Carney to roll back the harmful Liberal laws and regulations attacking Alberta and Alberta’s oilpatch.
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She gave him six months. End of October. Near Halloween.
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If Carney isn’t moving in Alberta’s direction it could get scary.
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The premier answers this scribbler by saying she will express what she wants right now in practical terms.
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Noon News Roundup
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Carney says he’s interested in fast-tracking projects, here is Smith’s project.
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“The project I’ve been looking at is a revival of the Northern Gateway pipeline to the port of Prince Rupert,” says Smith.
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“Because when you look at that particular route it gives us access to all the Asian markets and gives us a preference of being able to get our product there over any country in the world.”
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Smith talks about eight to 10 days to South Korea and Japan and on to the east coast of India with all the other nations in between.
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“Being able to create new markets there with additional export of bitumen is going to be incredibly important,” says the Alberta premier.
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She adds the biggest refinery of heavy oil is in India.
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Four South Korean refineries have already received shipment of Trans Mountain heavy oil.
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“They like it and they want more of it,” says Smith.
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What does it all mean?
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Well the pipeline would have to be fast-tracked so you don’t have to wait 10 years for an approval “and so it is de-risked to a point where somebody will come along and build it,” says Smith.
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If you get someone wanting to build the pipeline with the fast-track approval and that pipeline goes to the port of Prince Rupert there can no longer be a tanker ban because you need the boats to get the product overseas.
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For Smith, you also can’t very well have a cap on oil emissions because “if you want to increase your exports you can’t have an emissions cap that acts as a production cap.”
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And, Smith adds, Ottawa can’t layer on their own carbon tax regime because people won’t invest here.
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If Carney makes all that happen, for Smith, that would signal he is serious about changing things.
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“That’s what I’ll be looking at as an indicator of whether the federal government is going to meet us part way,” she says.
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Well, what if it doesn’t happen?
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Smith was hopeful when she spoke with Carney two weeks ago.