Larke Newell is a freelance journalist who divides her time between Canada and Panama. Being very concerned about the state of her country, she writes articles to draw attention to current issues.It appears that our Premier Smith has opted out of straddling the centerline and is now taking a page from Mark Carney’s playbook. Waffling, stalling, and whipping up word salads. At this point, it seems as though she thinks that “giving Albertans hope will tamp down separatist support.”In a recent speech to business people, she said, and I quote, “33% of our fellow citizens have given up on the country, and I think that is very sad. I think it is because of the way we have been treated over the last 10 years. My job is to give people hope again.”She was, of course, referring to the recent and much-lauded memorandum of understanding regarding an imaginary pipeline. Everyone knows, and knew at the time, that it was not worth the paper it was written on or the photo op handshake.“A decade of being treated badly by the federal government has led to separation rumblings … that’s why I think we have to make sure that we are doing genuine real things to address those grievances. And to the prime minister’s credit, I think he’s made some good strides in that regard,” said Smith.Oh, perhaps like the proposed million-barrel-per-day pipeline to British Columbia’s coast? Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie says that financing cannot be secured for said pipeline due to Canada’s regulatory framework. “As well, the industrial carbon pricing system makes Canadian oil uncompetitive and hampers the production growth needed,” said McKenzie..Ottawa’s regulatory approvals for the pipeline are directly linked to the development of the Pathways carbon capture and storage, which would capture greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands facilities and transport them via pipeline for storage.As explained by McKenzie, “the deal fails to address how the industry would ship an extra million barrels of oil a day while also spending capital on the Pathways project, which would cost as much as $30 billion.”“Ottawa’s failure to prioritize our biggest and most important export has forced investors to go elsewhere. Cenovus places over 1 million barrels a day across three continents, and none of our customers have ever suggested or even asked about the carbon intensity of Canadian crude.”Or perhaps the new Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor and Detroit is one of his “good strides.” There is apparently now a revenue-sharing agreement between Canada and the US, but not surprisingly the details remain murky. Even though Canada solely financed the $6.4 billion construction, the new agreement will split the net revenues from the bridge to a US-run economic development fund for 15 years. Carney told CTV News that “profits will be shared after the debt servicing costs are taken care of.”The original 2012 agreement stipulated that 100% of the tolls would go to the Canadian government. Half of the revenue would go to the US after a 36-year period. Under this new agreement with our fierce-elbows-up Prime Minister, Canada will receive just 50% of the PROFITS.Six Conservative MPs wrote to Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, criticizing Carney’s agreement as a bad deal for Canada because the country covered the entire cost of constructing the bridge.In any case, back to Danielle Smith. She has now made her position abundantly clear in regards to Alberta independence. Which begs the question, “Is attempting to continue to work with her a case of ‘better the devil you know than the one you don’t?’”That being said, and to be fair, Premier Smith has tried hard to keep a level head and cover all the bases. The truth of the matter is she has the right to her opinion of the situation and has continually made it clear that she prefers a sovereign nation within Canada. However, it appears that she is either gullible and naive enough to believe all his drivel, or is just biding her time, still attempting to play the game in the middle of the fence.Larke Newell is a freelance journalist who divides her time between Canada and Panama. Being very concerned about the state of her country, she writes articles to draw attention to current issues.
