The Alberta United Conservative Party said NDP leader Naheed Nenshi and his party are caving to the Canadian government rather than opposing its oil and gas emissions cap. Although the Alberta UCP opposes the emissions cap, it said Nenshi will always side with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault. “Once again, Naheed Nenshi is showing where his loyalty lies — firmly with his bosses in Ottawa rather than standing up for Albertans,” said Alberta Chief Government Whip Shane Getson in a Wednesday press release.“Nenshi’s defence of a jobs-killing and unconstitutional emissions cap is an insult to the energy workers who drive our province’s prosperity.”Nenshi had said the motion the Alberta government was bringing under the Alberta Sovereignty Act (ASA) about the emissions cap was about performance. “Literally not one thing that the premier announced today requires the Sovereignty Act to be done,” he said. “This is straight-up virtue signalling to say that we’re using the Sovereignty Act.” He said the one action it could do is reverse the onus on a legal challenge. In other words, the Alberta government would be in the same courtroom having the same legal arguments, but it could be sitting on the other side. The UCP said the proposed emissions cap will lead to production cuts of at least one million barrels per day of oil and gas in Alberta and ruin the economy. Reports have suggested it will eliminate 150,000 jobs. It said it was the most damaging Canadian government policy since the National Energy Program. Because of the damage it could cause, the UCP said Alberta needs to fight back. Unlike the NDP, it said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and it will oppose the emisssions cap. It added it will work to maximize the value of every barrel of oil to benefit Albertans. By proposing a motion under the ASA, the Alberta government will implement measures to block it from coming into effect. This includes launching a constitutional challenge should it become law. The motion includes exploring additional measures such as not enforcing it and protecting oil and gas facilities under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act. Also, it could lead conventional oil sales being done through the Conventional Oil Royalty-in-Kind program, working with the oil and gas industry to implement a Bitumen Royalty-in-Kind program for bitumen, and developing a similar program for natural gas if needed. However, it said Nenshi wants to support it when it could be destructive. It denounced him for not caring about the impact it will have on Alberta. It said the NDP’s support for the Canadian government’s environmental policies led to the emissions cap. The UCP concluded by saying the NDP under Nenshi will never stand up to the Canadian government’s environmental policies. The Alberta government said on Tuesday it will be fighting back against the Canadian government's proposed oil and gas emissions cap with the ASA. .Alberta government unveils Sovereignty Act motion against feds' emissions cap .Smith said the Alberta government will be putting forward a motion under the ASA to ask the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for approval to shield the province if the emissions cap becomes law. “These actions could include an immediate constitutional challenge in the courts, a ban on provincial bodies enforcing the cap, labelling oil and gas production facilities as essential infrastructure subject to the Alberta Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, prohibiting the entry of all individuals into these facilities except those licensed to enter by the Alberta government, and declaring all information related to greenhouse gases at these facilities to be owned by Alberta’s government with data reported or disclosed at our discretion,” she said.
