Smith tired of fed’s ‘foolishness,’ partners with energy contractors on drilling accelerator

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz on Friday addressed the future of the province’s energy production in the face of a looming emissions cap. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals on November 4 issued a summary of its “oil and gas sector greenhouse gas emissions cap regulations” — Smith’s government has been protesting ever since. Speaking at the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors’ 2024 State of the Industry at Calgary’s Tellus Convention Centre Friday, Smith delivered a keynote address and she and Shultz each participated in a separate fireside chat. Smith promised industry contractors her government is going to “help you do what you do best — keep the energy flowing.”“We will build together, we can win together as we provide (energy) for all Canadians,” said Smith. The premier said she’s looking forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and expressed frustration with the approach Canada’s federal government has taken with the energy escort. “They are not looking to bury us in red tape, they are looking to cut industry all together,” Smith told the audience of about 600 people. She said business across the board — small and medium sized businesses and indigenous-owned and corporate oil and gas companies alike will suffer under Trudeau’s production cap. “The cap will make things more expensive” and “it will mean relying on Russia and Iran” for oil and gas, said Smith. “We refuse to accept these assaults on our industry, and Alberta’s future.”.Alberta government unveils Sovereignty Act motion against feds' emissions cap .Smith reassured energy contractors “the moment” Ottawa enacts it’s production cap legislation, the Alberta government will be ready to enact the Alberta Sovereignty Act and “immediately proceed to a court challenge.” Alberta has a plan to institute a “variety of measures to shield the oil and gas industry in Alberta if regulations become law,” said Smith. In addition to the court challenge opposing Trudeau’s cap, the Alberta government is also preparing measures such as prohibiting local entities from imposing a cap and having greenhouse gas emissions reported directly to the province rather than Ottawa. As for tariffs imposed by the incoming US president, Smith thinks he has some valid points and that working with his administration would benefit both Americans and Canadians.“Donald Trump is very serious (about border security),” said Smith. “And we have to take him seriously.”“Those who voted for him have valid concerns,” she added. Not only does that apply to cracking down on the border and Canada's rampant drug trafficking problem, but it also means following through with Trudeau’s commitment to NATO to spend 2% on defence spending — a target the prime minister’s administration has miserably failed to miss. “Trudeau needs to listen, crack down on the border and spend 2% on defence,” said Smith. “We should not discount Trump’s commitment to energy security.”“It is out of foolishness that (Ottawa) will institute an emissions cap.”She pointed to the Liberals’ Bill C-59, which she said made it illegal to even talk about production “because they can come up with some highly curated data that will obstruct it.”Under the Alberta Sovereignty Act, “companies report to us,” said Smith. “Guilbeault comes out, makes a show of checking boxes, and the does what he wants — just because he’s going through the motions of consulting, doesn’t mean he’s consulting. For all these reasons, the Alberta government is looking towards the Accelerator incentive, which Smith describes as the “future on oil and gas.” The Alberta Drilling Accelerator is designed to be a open-access, technology-agnostic program for testing drilling technologies in challenging environments, according to Think Geoenergy.”The initiative will “bring Alberta to the forefront of AI and data centers. “We believe we can control every aspect of decisions around that,” said Smith. .Schulz says Alberta government needs to have bold response to feds’ emissions cap.Shultz spoke about the “geothermal entrepreneurial spirit” during her fireside segment. She pointed to Germany’s recent energy crisis and said they “needed” geothermal energy production during that time.“I tried to tell (Trudeau) that, but he wouldn't listen,” said Shultz. The provincial energy minister said the Alberta Drilling Accelerator is about “Alberta getting its own capital” in a “privately led, publicly enabled” partnership. “Small companies and large oil and gas (corporations) alike can use it for “funding innovative ideas.”“For those of you who think LNG is a dying industry, we disagree with that,” said Shultz. “I actually do think (Trudeau’s Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault) wakes up everyday thinking of new ways to hurt our industry.” “Across Canada, we would not survive without oil and gas, keeping us warm, fuelling our cars, and keeping us going all day every day.

Smith tired of fed’s ‘foolishness,’ partners with energy contractors on drilling accelerator

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