Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has a simple solution for Germans who rely on Russian energy and are left in the cold this winter in Europe: use Alberta resources..“Last week at COP, Minister Savage had a productive meeting with Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for the Federal Republic of Germany to build awareness of Alberta’s hydrogen production capacity (with CCS), our system to feed LNG production, and our critical minerals strategy," Smith's press secretary Rebecca Polak told the Western Standard..On Monday, Smith and former premier Ed Stelmach were among the latest 100 Canadians sanctioned by the Russian government for backing Ukraine..“In response to the continued practice by the regime of Prime Minister J. Trudeau of imposing sanctions against the Russian leadership, politicians, and parliamentarians, representatives of the business community, experts and journalists, cultural figures, as well as anyone whom the Canadian Russophobic authorities consider objectionable, entry is closed on the basis of reciprocity for 100 Canadian citizens,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a Monday press release..The Russian Foreign Ministry said these people are “directly involved in the formation of an aggressive anti-Russian course.”.READ MORE: Smith, Stelmach sanctioned by Russia for supporting Ukraine."My response to Europe: Free yourselves of Russian energy. Alberta is ready to help! I'm planning a trip to Germany soon to talk about de-leveraging Russia's hold over European markets for generations," Smith tweeted on Monday..A survey conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW) revealed more than 20 million Germans feel threatened by energy poverty. The results of the poll published by Die Welt on Sunday show in May a quarter of the German population had to spend more than 10% of their net household income on energy. Last year, the share of those affected stood at 14.5%..Europe experienced drastic reductions of Russian gas supplies to the country via the Nord Stream pipeline due to technical issues stemming from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow..Additionally, Russia halted gas supplies to Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark’s Orsted, Dutch company GasTerra, and energy giant Shell for its German contracts for refusing to adopt the gas-for-rubles payment scheme introduced by Moscow in response to sanctions..According to Polak, Smith, and Minister of Energy Pete Guthrie are working together to reach out to Germany on further LNG opportunities, which includes a potential trade mission in the new year.."More specific details to come," Polak said.
