The highlight for Premier Scott Moe last week was his attendance at the Western Premiers’ Conference in Yellowknife, NWT.
Overshadowing the entire conference was the dispute between Alberta and British Columbia over the Trans Mountain Pipeline, with Alberta still upset with British Columbia’s efforts to block the pipeline expansion.
Moe spoke to reporters by conference call May 23, after the meetings wrapped up. As expected, the pipeline was a prime concern of premiers there, which included Premier John Horgan of British Columbia, Premier Brian Pallister of Manitoba and Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod.
But Alberta Premier Rachel Notley stayed home. She sent Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman instead, opting to remain in Edmonton to focus on efforts to approve the pipeline. Alberta also refused to sign the official communiqué from the conference.
Moe noted there were others not there. He said the people responsible for making the decisions on the approval and construction of the pipeline — the federal government — were not at the table.
“They are the entity that should put forward a plan on how this pipeline will actually start construction,” said Moe.
As for the leaders who were in Yellowknife, “there were no minds changed at this meeting,” he said.
“Those opinions remain after our meetings here today, but the fact of the matter is it’s our opinion that this lies with the federal government and that they should exercise the scope of jurisdiction that they have, as well as they should initiate further engagement with those provinces and those most closely involved with the project.”
Moe was reluctant to pass judgement on Notley’s non-attendance at the Western premier’s conference.
“I understand Premier Notley’s frustration. I share in her frustration with respect to not starting construction on this pipeline … nor am I to be a judge on whether or not you should attend a meeting or whether or not you should leave a meeting mid-way as I did in the not too distant past.”
Premier Moe was referring to the time in 2016 when as environment Minister he walked out of climate-change talks upon word that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced he would impose a carbon price.
The Saskatchewan premier once again urged the federal government to get involved in resolving the dispute before a May 31 Kinder Morgan deadline on the pipeline. That is the date by which Kinder Morgan will decide whether or not to scrap the project.
“I would just put out my words of urging the federal government to engage with those involved including Premier Notley and including Premier Horgan at a much higher level than we’ve seen over the last number of days,” Moe said, responding to questions. “We have nine days now to ensure that Kinder Morgan can make the correct decision on this project as well as the federal government using every tool in their tool belt and I’ve said this before, in ensuring that they are taking up the full scope of their jurisdiction that they have on this project.”
One idea he suggested was for the feds to withhold infrastructure funding to the province.
As for what else the government could do to move the issue forward, Moe suggested they go “to Victoria and start open discussions with those most closely involved … have very active and ongoing discussions with the province of British Columbi,a which to my knowledge need to be ramped up and need to be more frequent and need to be more intense.”
The answer to the question of what the federal government would do came the following Tuesday, when it announced it would buy the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion to ensure the construction went ahead.
There were other discussions as well, including free trade agreements and in particular the ongoing negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Premier Moe noted the importance of the agreement. He also said the conference discussed logistics issues.
“We need to be able to reliably provide those products to the 150 countries we work with and export to around the globe.”
The capacity rail challenges encountered over the past few years were discussed. Moe also said they spoke about competitiveness of their industries relative to competitors in the United States and the sustainability of the products they manufacture.
“But we need to remember the sustainable nature, relative to others in the world in which our product is produced and transported, and talk about it, to talk about freely, because we can be proud of these products and we should be looking at opportunities to replace these dirtier forms of energy from other areas of the world,” said Moe.
One other item from the conference was the signing of the final communiqué, which included support for a national pharmacare strategy.
Opposition leader Ryan Meili asked Moe about the pharmacare issue in Question Period the following day, which was recorded in Hansard.
Mr. Meili: —The premier was recently in Yellowknife where he signed a communiqué in support of a national pharmacare strategy. And that communiqué says … “Western premiers agree on the need to continue work on new ways to increase access and lower the cost of drugs for Canadians.”
I was really pleased to see this advancement, especially since this declaration came just a few weeks after a 75-minute debate on pharmacare right here in this assembly where members opposite spent their time arguing against universal pharmacare. I wasn’t really aware that the road to Damascus ran through Yellowknife … but I’m thrilled that the premier saw the light.
And now that the premier has signed the Western premiers’ communiqué on pharmacare, I’m wondering if he would also be willing to sign the letter that we prepared to the federal government’s pharmacare adviser, and join New Democrats in calling for a fully funded universal pharmacare program for all Canadians.
The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.
Hon. Mr. Moe: — … I thank the member opposite for the question. And I’ll make some comments, as I have before, on the work that’s been initiated by the federal government with respect to a national pharmacare program here in the province of Saskatchewan. And we’ve done one better than a joint-sign of a letter from a province.
We attended a meeting yesterday with provinces from across … Western and Northern Canada to talk just about this topic. And the member opposite is right. Western premiers do agree on the need to continue the work … on ensuring that we have access to our prescription drugs here in Western Canada.
There’s four points of focus. Improving patient access should be the focus, as well as development on best available evidence. Potential risks … provinces and must retain the responsibility for design and delivery. And federal funding must be available and must be ongoing.
And I think it’s important to note that there is concern around that table — including in Saskatchewan — that any federal program would impact the already … drug program that we have here in the province of Saskatchewan. We have a strong program. It’s as comprehensive as any province across the nation of Canada. It’s a program that has evolved over decades, and I think it’s a program that the people of the province can be very proud of.
