MORGAN: Alberta's humiliating negotiation process with Carney must end

Among provinces in the federation, only Alberta must go through the humiliating ritual of grovelling and negotiating with the federal government to develop its industries and export its products. Ontario’s premier doesn’t have to beg for permission to expand automotive manufacturing, nor does Quebec have to snivel if it wants to expand a maple syrup plantation. Alberta, however, is reduced to having to offer concessions to be allowed to do what every other oil-producing jurisdiction on the planet does without hesitation.There is little indication that the federal government has any interest in allowing Alberta to expand its resource production and export infrastructure. Carney has talked and talked and talked for over a year now, and we aren’t an inch closer to getting something done than we were a year ago. Premier Danielle Smith keeps setting deadlines, and they keep passing. Now, Smith is celebrating that she and Carney have more officially entrenched the MOU they created long ago, but what does that mean? Has Carney repealed the “No More Pipelines Act,” which has stalled development in Alberta for years? Has Carney repealed the tanker ban on the West Coast despite tankers constantly docking in Eastern Canadian ports? Has Carney retracted his assertion that indigenous consent will be required to get projects constructed?Has Carney retracted his assertion that provincial permission must be attained by BC or Quebec to get pipelines constructed? .Unless all of these things have been done, nothing of note will be expanding in Alberta. Canada is uncompetitive on the world market and will remain so until the government chooses to get out of the damn way. No pipeline has ever been talked into the ground, but Carney and Smith appear determined to try that method.Albertans have had enough, as have private investors. According to an RBC report, over a trillion dollars in potential investment has already fled Canada in the last decade, and most of that was potential oil and gas investment. The conditions causing that capital flight haven’t been addressed, thus the flight will only continue.If Mark Carney truly wants to see these projects done, he can say so any time. He can declare these projects to be in the national interest and that he will use his constitutional authority to get them done. He won’t do that, though. He just offers mealy-mouthed promises and more negotiations. His Major Projects Office was created almost a year ago with the ostensible goal of fast-tracking approvals. So far, it hasn’t approved a single project. I think we can safely call that initiative a failure. It is an office of false hopes and continued deferral. Nothing more. And it appears to be that way by design.Carney pretends the holdup is with a lack of interest from private investors, but that’s an outright lie. Private companies desperately want to produce and export more oil and gas while world energy prices spike. They have made no secret of what’s holding them up. Cenovus CEO Jon McKenzie called Canada’s energy policies “myopically focused on the climate agenda,” arguing they have made “resource development and investment in the country uncompetitive with the rest of the world.”.Canadian Natural Resources Limited CEO Scott Stauth argued that companies investing in CCS should not face an additional industrial carbon price on top of those costs, calling the policy an “economic burden” that undermines long-term growth.The Oil Sands Alliance recently released a statement saying, “Because of complex regulatory processes, uncompetitive carbon frameworks, and fiscal systems that do not incent growth, there has not been a major new greenfield oilsands project sanctioned in Canada since 2013, and investment has dramatically declined.”Premier Smith was obliged to show she was willing to deal with the federal government in good faith, but the time for playing nice is done. She needs to approach these negotiations with teeth, and scheduling an independence referendum will do that. No more pussyfooting around. Just announce it will be held, and it will be asking the constitutional question, not Lukaszuk’s status quo version.Albertans have had enough waiting. Things are stalled. Premier Smith must start the referendum clock ticking and must make it clear that Carney’s inaction will increase support for the “Yes” side.If she doesn’t schedule the vote, not only is she setting herself up for more embarrassment as Carney plays with her, but she will be opening up her right flank for a party split as independence supporters put real pressure on her.Nothing shy of a project scheduled with dirt anticipated to move soon will satisfy Albertans now. Smith must demand nothing less and must give Albertans the democratic means to express their thoughts on the federation in a referendum. Talk is cheap, and we have had enough.

MORGAN: Alberta's humiliating negotiation process with Carney must end

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