Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe clarified his “I don’t care” about climate change comment uttered Friday..During the media scrum, Moe asked to “read his comment for the record” to put his comment in context..“A lot of folks will come to me and say ‘hey guys, you have the highest carbon emissions per capita,’ meaning Saskatchewan. I went on to say ‘I don’t care,’” said Moe..“We have the highest exports per capita in Canada as well. We make the cleanest products and then send those products to over 150 countries around the world.”.“This province is most certainly part of the solution when it comes to a cleaner, greener economy. We are part of the solution to your energy security concerns. Part of the solution when it comes to food security concerns that countries may have.”.NDP Opposition critic for the environment, Erika Ritchie, found Moe’s original comment and clarification disappointing..“The kind of response that we heard from the premier indicates a flippant response to a serious crisis here. We need serious leadership and action taken by our government,” said Ritchie..“I think he should have said that he does care.”.A reporter asked if the “I don’t care” comment was a misinterpretation of what Moe meant to say..“This is a misinterpretation and should be stated in a bold way because no one else in this nation is stating it. We have the cleanest products available in the world. The world should be looking to purchase from Saskatchewan,” said Moe..Moe disagrees with using per capita emissions for measuring emissions..Saskatchewan has a small population compared to its oil output, making per capita emissions irrelevant..“Per capita emissions is the wrong metric. In fact, anyone who is talking about per capita emissions. Really doesn’t care about climate change in any way. What they are trying to do is score cheap political points,” said Moe..Moe thinks the province should lower its emissions, but using a federal carbon tax is not the way to do it..“Absolutely, we are some of the lowest emissions products today and we continue to reduce emissions as we look ahead. In no way is that a result of a ridiculous carbon tax that we did take to the Supreme Court of Canada,” said Moe..“It’s because of what Saskatchewan companies are doing investing in enhanced oil recovery, investing in thermal sites up the west side, investing in zero till technology, investing in some of the cleanest ways to mine potash and uranium that you can find in the world.”.Ritchie takes issue with Moe’s analysis because it is not an economy-wide approach to climate change..“I see that as not an adequate approach. They’re being very selective. There’s parts of our economy that are being entirely left out of this conversation. Whether it’s the transportation sector, the building sector, (and) training,” said Ritchie..“We need all government response, also an economy-wide response. Those remarks do not give assurance to investors that they feel confident about investing in Saskatchewan, be able to attract workers to the province.” .“To take advantage of the opportunity we have here to prepare for the future, provide generational change, future jobs for Saskatchewan people that will take us in the direction that we need.”.Moe is proud of Saskatchewan and its ability to lower global emissions..“I am very proud on the behalf of the government of Saskatchewan of what we are doing in this province,” said Moe. .“We should increase our production in this province. Make that additional volume available to folks around the world to offset those dirtier supplies coming from other areas.”.Chris Oldcorn is a Western Standard Reporter based in Regina.,coldcorn@westernstandard.news,Twitter: @chrisoldcorn,.Parler: @chrisoldcorn
