Don’t expect a new federal environment minister anytime soon. Or any compromise from Prime Minister Trudeau on energy policy.Despite repeated pleas from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to summarily can Steven Guilbeault, Trudeau told reporters in Calgary on Wednesday that he has no plans to do so. And in fact, he said Guilbeault’s approach is consistent with the Liberal government’s line on energy.That’s notwithstanding Guilbeault’s gaffes in recent weeks over everything from electricity rules to banning new roads.When asked if Canadians would be better served with a fresh face in the portfolio, if only to increase cooperation with Alberta, Trudeau just shrugged and gave his trademark smirk. If people — presumably Smith — don’t like Guilbeault’s attitude, they need to change theirs, he added.“I have tremendous faith and confidence in my environment minister and if if people are having trouble getting along with him, maybe they need to look at their own approach to these big issues as opposed to looking at what he's talking about, which is consistent with building a better future. Next question.”.Trudeau was in Calgary on Wednesday, ostensibly to announce dental care for seniors. Appropriately enough, the venue for the announcement was the SAIT dental lab replete with dental drills and anesthesia.He also took time to have a hyper-secret meeting with Smith at an unlikely — and undisclosed — location in Eau Claire rather than McDougall Centre where reporters had gathered before 8 am.And while he admitted major differences on energy issues, he also touted areas of agreement on issues like daycare and pharmacare..But he agreed most of the discussion was around energy and environment. It wasn’t clear if Smith repeated her demand that Guilbeault be fired, but it doesn’t matter much because he also made it clear that he has no intention of backing down on issues like emissions caps and carbon taxes.He cited Alberta’s early start to wildfire season as a de facto acknowledgement that even the UCP government agrees with him that climate is the defining issue of his government.“One of the challenges everybody is seeing is climate change. Alberta declared a start to its forest fire season in February this year. We had one of the worst years for wildfires ever, on top of some of the worst years for floods and droughts. In different parts of the country as well. The impacts of climate change are real, and they're not just environmental or community based. They're also economic,” he said.“I was pleased to talk with Premier Smith. But we also did talk about how we're moving forward on clean electricity on investing in renewables and how we're partnering on big projects to deliver for Albertans. The Prime Minister job doesn't just happen in Ottawa. And it shouldn’t.”
