By Jamie Barrie
O ne the heels of a visit to Alberta by Jane Fonda, where she stated, “We don’t need new pipelines,” as she held a press conference at the Univer- sity of Alberta where she also dismissed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “good-looking Liberal” who couldn’t be trusted.
Well if you are from Alberta or in the Canadian Oil business you might be saying that she is 50% right.
But just like when Leonardo DiCaprio was here, when Fonda steps into her full size SUV and gets back on her private jet to go on her next environ- mental event, it will benothingbut an adventure for her, however like the PMhimself she will remain an enemy of the province of Alberta. Interesting enough Fonda’s visit and comments was not the only thing upsetting Alberta politicians and Albertans alike as they were also recovering fromnews that PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau was talking again about of phasing out the oilsands which is not good news for an area that has taken a major hit as oil prices have declined.
When the Prime Minister was asked at a town hall event in Ontario about the federal government’s recent approval of expansionof KinderMorgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, Trudeau reiterated his remarks that he is attempting to balance economic and environmental concerns. “We can’t shut down the oilsands tomorrow. We need to phase them out. We need to manage the transition off of our
dependence on fossil fuels but it’s going to take time and in the meantime we have tomanage that transition,” Trudeau said.
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said Trudeau’s remarks were a “direct attack” on Alberta.
“By vowing to ‘phase out’ the oil sands, Mr. Trudeau has declared his true feelings towards our province, and Western Canada as a whole,” said Jean.
“The economic benefits of the oil sands are immeasur- able.”
In a statement from the PMO said “the Prime Minister, as he and previous Prime Ministers including Stephen Harper have been saying for a long time, was reiterating the need to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels and his commitment to growing the economy all while protecting the environment.”
There has been lots of debate and most industry experts see that new pipelines projects are going to be key for Alberta to connect its oilsands crude to newmarkets and access a better price. In saying that companies will be less interested in being part of these projects is the PM continue to make reference to phasing out the industry.
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FEBRUARY 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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