Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday night did another about-face and said he is committed to keeping the Liberals’ cap on Canadian energy.
Carney on Thursday while in Edmonton said he is willing to move away from the emissions cap, while his Environment Minister Terry Duguid contradictorily said this week said the Liberals plan to keep the emissions cap in place.
“I am focused on getting emissions down from the production and transportation of conventional oil and gas… Now there is a role for an emissions cap,” said Carney at a press conference after meeting with First Ministers.
“Will you maintain the emissions cap or not?” asked a reporter.
“The emissions cap. Yes.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaking at a press conference in Calgary Friday told reporters she spoke with Carney on the emissions cap, which she has continuously slammed as a cap on production, and he expressed interest in dropping the policy.
“He said he was interested in results — in getting projects like pipelines in the ground,” said Smith.
“That was good to hear because we all know you can’t fill new pipelines and cap oil production at the same time.
“The prime minister’s words sounded kind of nice yesterday — until I found out that his new environment minister had just told media on the other side of the country that the federal Liberals would be keeping the emissions cap in place.”
The Tories in a Saturday morning press release said “for years, the Carney-Trudeau Liberals have attacked Canadian oil and gas workers, pushing a radical anti-energy agenda.”
Tory leader Pierre Poilievre’s party agrees with Smith’s view that the Liberals’ emissions cap “is cap on Canadian energy production.”
“So as the US is going after our energy sector and Canadian markets more broadly, the Carney Liberals would like to cap Canadian energy production and block exports of our oil and gas to the world,” wrote the Conservatives.
“This will be a disaster not only for Canadian jobs, but for Canada's ability to defend ourselves from the unjustified US trade tariffs, especially when it comes to exporting our energy to global markets.”
The Conservatives cite a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer that says the Liberals’ cap on Canadian energy will reduce oil and gas production by nearly 5%, cut GDP by $20.5 billion annually and eliminate 54,400 full-time jobs by 2032.
“Instead of strengthening our economy and supporting workers, Mark Carney’s policies will devastate the energy sector, destroy jobs, and make life more expensive for Canadians at the worst possible time,” states the press release.
“This is all while Mark Carney invested in overseas oil pipelines and energy projects, through his company Brookfield Asset Management. Which raises the question, as Mark Carney attacks Canadian oil and gas and pushes subsidies for green technologies, do Carney and Brookfield stand to make financial gains as a result of Carney’s policies?”