Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall made his point at the Premiers Conference where the first ministers gathered in St. John’s to forge Canadian energy strategies.
It was obvious some of the other provincial leaders weren’t as impressed as we were with Wall’s sometimes blunt tell-it-as-it-is message.
A not-so-tongue-in cheek exchange with Alberta’s new first lady of politics, Rachel Notley, signalled that perhaps the once cozy western three-province coalition is not so cozy any more thanks to Alberta’s leftward swing in political philosophy.
Notley’s references regarding Wall’s supposed showboating, spoke clearly about her current situation. With a clear majority and four years of governance ahead of her, she could afford to speak more gently about conciliation and consultation.
Wall, on the other hand, is seven months away from a campaign, so to hear him speaking clearly and, yes, stubbornly in defence of the oil and natural gas industry, spoke volumes to his electorate.
Saskatchewan is in a unique, underdog position in the grand scheme of things when it comes to provincial gatherings, so we don’t mind it when our premier decides to jump from the middleweight division to take on the heavyweights such as Ontario and Quebec, and now, it seems, even Alberta.
With fewer than 1.2 million people and 14 seats at the Parliamentary table, our province doesn’t generally get to swing a big hammer … until it comes to resources and economics. Those two items are Wall’s scoring punches in the national ring, and he’s willing to throw them when necessary.
It seems strange that it takes a Saskatchewan premier to voice the obvious to Quebec and Ontario, but apparently it was necessary since Philippe Couillard and Kathleen Wynne, just weren’t getting it.
Wynne, at least, showed a willingness to let all forces be heard, but she also knew that when it came to energy, resources and economics, Ontario was at a distinct disadvantage since it has the biggest debt and deficit load with its state of power production. Ontario made a stab at going greener and it has cost them plenty and they’re still not there and will continue to face a nuclear disaster of another kind insofar as they’ll never be able to pay down the debt accumulated with their experimentations.
Quebec, on the other hand, loves their current situation that includes unholy debt and a permanent seat at the receiving end of the federal equalization payment plan. They’ve been there ever since that program began in 1957 and have no intention of improving their economic well-being. They like that $9 billion per year they get, thanks to the contributions made by Alberta, B.C., Sask., and Newfoundland/Labrador. Couillard, like those before him, knows a good scheme and scam when he sees it and won’t let pride get in the way.
So, when it comes to the Energy East plan, those who could benefit the most, were actually bucking the proposal, trying to win the green vote, while Wall was simply pointing out facts.
Carrying oil and gas by pipelines is the most efficient and environmentally responsible route. The pipeline in question is already built and used effectively. Extending it to New Brunswick creates jobs and rids Canada of dependence on foreign oil. Saskatchewan is showing the way on the GHG front, making a larger investment per capita than any of the others on that file … something that was ignored by the big players.
So what remained so disappointing about the conference was, that, once again, the country’s supposed leader, the PM, refused to show up and secondly, the country learned a sad lesson, that there is business that involves politics and then there is the business of politics.
We figure our premier played both games pretty well.
