A Calgary Liberal MP is calling out Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for deliberately misleading Albertans — and Canadians — over the federal government’s proposed electricity regulations..Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal, who is also chairman of the House of Commons standing committee on natural resources, told the Canadian Press Smith is making “baseless,” “false” and “ludicrous” statements on the federal government’s plans to bring Canada’s electricity grid to net-zero by 2035..Those include comments government and company officials could face jail time for non-compliance..On September 28, the UCP government rolled out a national ad campaign warning Canadians — and especially Albertans — their power bills could quadruple and people could freeze in the dark in the middle of winter if Ottawa presses ahead with its proposed regulations..She also threatened to invoke the so-called ‘sovereignty act’ and indemnify politicians and executives against prosecution if it proceeds..But Chahal said electricity rates in Alberta have gone up more than five-fold since the UCP government took power..Smith, meanwhile, blames the former NDP government’s decision to phase out coal-fired power six years early. The last coal plant will be shuttered later this year.."Lack of reliability is the nature of what we have with our power grid right now, it’s the reason why typically we would have had zero or one alert per year until the NDP ‘Wreckfest’ and that we had in the last year 10 alerts" said Smith. "This is the reason why we keep talking about base load power.“.It sets up a potentially volatile showdown when Smith appears before the committee in Ottawa next week..According to Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, Chahal’s comments are precisely the reason government officials will be travelling to Ottawa to address the committee..“It sounds like MP George Chahal has been spending too much time in Ottawa listening to his ideological, out of touch Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault,” said in an emailed statement to The Western Standard..Schulz said Albertans and Canadians alike are “very concerned” about the impact the 2035 electricity regulations will have on reliable and affordable electricity..These same concerns have already been raised by Alberta’s Electric System Operator (AESO) and Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) who have both said these draft regulations, as written, will put the reliability and affordability of electricity at risk, she added..”But Ottawa seems intent on moving forward with their destructive and unconstitutional plans to reduce emissions on an unachievable timeline.“.Chahal made headlines earlier this year for demanding government funding for the Calgary Stampede be pulled in the wake of a sex scandal. He was also reprimanded and forced to pay a $500 fine by Elections Canada for removing campaign flyers from mailboxes during the 2020 election campaign..Chahal was widely touted as cabinet material when he was elected, one of only two Alberta Liberals to accomplish the feat..The Western Standard reached out to his office for comment but has yet to received a response.
