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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Alberta premier defends his province's record

Open letter aims vitriol at Quebec, Ontario premiers

By: Jason Fekete

Posted: 12/18/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

CALGARY -- With Canada's oilsands under attack in Copenhagen, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach went on an environmental offensive of his own Thursday with a national media blitz that assails other premiers and trumpets his province's green credentials.

In an open letter published in some Canadian newspapers, Stelmach appeared to take aim at Quebec and Ontario, and used a radio interview to throw direct jabs at the Liberal premiers of the two provinces.

Both Quebec and Ontario have used the Copenhagen climate-change talks to serve notice they don't want their greenhouse gas cuts contributing the lion's share of national reductions simply to offset rising emissions from the carbon-intensive oilsands.

On Thursday, Stelmach fired back. In the three-quarter-page newspaper ad, which cost $118,862 to run across the country, the premier said Alberta is doing its part both on the environmental and economic fronts.

"Albertans want to reduce emissions. We offer pragmatic, practical ways to do it. No one should ignore the economic stakes of this debate," Stelmach said in the ad.

"Slowing our economy is a guaranteed way to reduce emissions. But if Alberta's economy stops growing, all Canadians will feel this pain," added the premier, who skipped the Copenhagen talks and sent his environment minister instead.

Stelmach said in the letter that Alberta's contribution to the federal treasury is "huge," with the province sending $21 billion more in taxes to Ottawa than it receives back in grants, programs and services.

Officials for Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who's in Copenhagen, rejected a request for an interview Thursday.

But Charest argued earlier this week at the conference that there are "Two Canadas," in that the federal government is pursuing a national climate-change plan with weaker targets than those in Quebec and Ontario. Early indications are the national strategy will offer some breaks to the oilsands.

"That doesn't reflect what we want in Quebec," Charest said. "For the provinces and territories, there are commitments that go much further."

Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen told a Toronto newspaper his province's "biggest fear" is Ottawa will use emissions reductions to "allow the tarsands development to proceed without hesitation."

Stelmach, however, maintained in his letter that Alberta has "led the country with emissions legislation" that penalizes companies that can't meet their targets, with the dollars paid in penalties invested in new technology that reduces emissions.

That approach "is more sensible than taking money from Canadian consumers and sending it to other countries" to offset emissions through any international cap-and-trade program, he said.

"We shouldn't waste time pointing fingers at one another. The world needs us to act, and that's exactly what we're doing," the letter concluded.

Columns and editorials appearing in Quebec newspapers La Presse and the Montreal Gazette have sided with Stelmach on the issue, criticizing Quebec and Ontario for "grandstanding for voters at home" by targeting the oilsands.

"Quebec and Ontario seem to forget that while Alberta spews gases, it also spews money," says a Gazette editorial.

"Alberta emission cuts would reduce profits from the tarsands, and dominoes would start to fall: Tax revenue would drop, equalization payments would decline, Quebec revenue would fall, and soon some of Quebec's social programs, Canada's most generous, would become unsupportable. Meanwhile, Alberta would be buying less of what Quebec produces and offering fewer jobs for Quebecers."

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 18, 2009 A13

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