MEDICINE HAT, AB: Premier Rachel Notley must clarify her comments calling Alberta “embarrassing cousins” the same day Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said a new carbon and car tax is on the table, the Wildrose Official Opposition said.
The comments were made yesterday on Global’s Woman of Vision program with Notley saying Alberta needs to “make progress on our environmental record … as opposed to being the embarrassing cousin that no one wants to talk about.”
“This is just the latest example of the NDP putting ideology and economic experiments before reality. The fact is Alberta has a proud story to tell about our environmental progress along with our resource development,” Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said. “We don’t need a carbon tax or a car tax to stop being ‘embarrassing cousins.’ We can take moderate, practical steps to make needed improvements on our environmental record without having to raise taxes on Albertans or put jobs at risk.”
Wildrose believes in taking real action on the environment like reducing CO2 emissions through a natural gas strategy and taking meaningful steps to ensure all Albertans enjoy clean land, clean air and clean water.
Wildrose Shadow Energy Minister Leela Aheer said repeated comments like these continue to have a negative impact for industry and a new carbon tax on individuals will only raise the price of everything for families.
“There is always progress to be made, but we can’t be putting an ideological agenda ahead of protecting jobs and waving the flag proudly for Alberta,” Aheer said. “Let’s take reasonable steps to improve our environmental record and ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations, but let’s stop throwing our energy industry and job creators under the bus at a critical time for our economy.”