Smith rips Carney for buying 'pipelines in the U.S. and around the world' while opposing development in Canada
It seems Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is already fed up with Liberal leader Mark Carney.
Carney, an on-again, off-again critic of pipelines and fossil fuels, is facing scrutiny as Brookfield Asset Management — a company he stepped down from in January — sets its sights on a $9-billion deal to buy Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel transport system in the United States.
Reuters says the deal to buy Colonial is imminent.
“Given his refusal to repeal the ‘no new pipelines’ law, Canadians need to know why Mark Carney is so against building Canadian pipelines while his company buys pipelines in the U.S. and around the world,” Smith said.
“Would Canadian pipelines compete with and hurt his portfolio? We need answers to these questions before the election.”
Carney has consistently declined to proactively disclose the specific details of his financial holdings, including those tied to Brookfield, despite pressure from political opponents and media.
If Carney retains power in the April 28 federal election, Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa could deteriorate further.
Following her March 20 meeting with Carney, Smith outlined a list of demands she said must be addressed within the first six months of the next prime minister’s term to avert an “unprecedented national unity crisis.”
The demands include: guaranteeing Alberta full access to unfettered oil and gas corridors, repealing Bill C-69 — known to critics as the “no more pipelines act” — lifting the tanker ban off British Columbia’s coast, eliminating the oil and gas emissions cap, scrapping clean electricity regulations, ending the federal ban on single-use plastics, rejecting an export tax or restrictions on Alberta’s oil and gas to the United States, halting Alberta’s subsidization of other large provinces, and addressing federal mismanagement of national parks.
"At some point, Canada has to start working for Alberta, and it’s not right now,” Smith told reporters during a media availability on Tuesday.
“We’ve had a number of policies come in over the last 10 years (from Ottawa) that have damaged Alberta’s prosperity.”
On Saturday, Smith announced plans to form a panel after the federal election to hear from Albertans about issues they might want addressed through a referendum, though she dismissed talk of independence as “nonsense.”
