Premier Rachel Notley must stand up for Alberta against claims that we have the ‘dirtiest fuel’ and tell the real story which is that Alberta does the best job of protecting the environment of all energy producing jurisdictions, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said today.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated her opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline by inaccurately calling Alberta’s oil the “continent’s dirtiest.” Notley later told reporters that she found Clinton’s position on the Keystone pipeline reaffirming.
“Ms. Notley is entitled to her opinions on the Keystone XL pipeline, but she shouldn’t get the facts wrong. Alberta cannot afford to continue having partisan lies spread by foreign politicians as we try to get our product to tidewater,” Jean said. “There was an opportunity yesterday for our premier to stand up for Alberta’s interests, instead she continues to let our province be treated like a punching bag.”
A study released by the California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard showed the so-called “dirtiest oil in North America” is produced in California, where the Placerita oil field generates twice the upstream emissions as Canadian oilsands production.
Jean also called on Premier Notley to clarify her stance on what industry cleaning “up its environmental act” means; pointing out that Alberta’s environment record is better than any other oil producing jurisdiction in the world.
“While there’s no doubt there is still room for improved action on the environment, we should be telling the incredible story of Alberta being a global leader when it comes to responsible energy development,” Jean said. “Our environmental policies, laws and regulatory systems are among the best in the world. No one does it better. The premier should tell that story and build on that reputation instead of referring to Alberta as ‘embarrassing cousins’.”