EDMONTON, AB: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean released the following statement after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to phase out the oil sands at a town hall event in Ontario today:
“The verdict is in. Prime Minister Trudeau has confirmed Albertans’ worst fears about his Liberal government and its plans for our energy sector.
“By vowing to ‘phase out’ the oil sands, Mr. Trudeau has declared his true feelings towards our province, and western Canada as a whole.
“The economic benefits of the oil sands are immeasurable.
“They provide hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs for Canadians from coast to coast, and support core government services in many Canadian provinces, including Mr. Trudeau’s home province of Quebec – which has been gobbling up billions of dollars in equalization from Albertans’ pockets for years.
“If Mr. Trudeau wants to shut down Alberta’s oil sands, and my hometown, let him be warned: he’ll have to go through me and four million Albertans first.”