John Rustad has offered his "full support" to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as she takes the next step in advancing a pipeline to the coast of British Columbia.The BC Conservative leader said he was "really pleased" to hear that the Alberta government was working with private companies to prepare an application and early estimate to send to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Major Project Office..UPDATED: Alberta government to lead new pipeline application to BC coast."I am really pleased to see that Alberta is doing this," he told the Western Standard. "They certainly have my full support."Rustad made it clear we "need to be able to move Canadian oil to the coast," adding that he was "sick and tired of selling our natural resources to the Americans at a discount."."We're crazy if we think that's the route to prosperity for people in Canada, and quite frankly, in British Colombia," he added. "We're selling, what, three-and-a-half to four million barrels a day — at a 20 to 30% discount — to the Americans. Enough of charity to the Americans. It's time we get our resources offshore and get proper prices for them."Smith has also called on the federal government to do away with policies she argued are hindering the nation's economic prosperity, such as the BC tanker ban.When asked whether he agreed, Rustad said, "absolutely, those need to go.""We need to have a future, and that means we need to take advantage of the resources we have," he explained. "We need to be able to give significant tax relief. We need to be able to drive down the costs to help with affordability, and you can't do that while handcuffing your economy."Rustad took aim at the emissions cap, CleanBC, and the industrial carbon tax as well, saying they also "need to go" so we can "take advantage of our natural resources to be able to bring prosperity for people in Canada and British Columbia."
