Premier Jason Kenney today met with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to reiterate Alberta’s need for a fair deal within the Canadian Federation.
Premier Jason Kenney meets with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Premier Kenney and Deputy Prime Minister Freeland met in person for the third time since her appointment as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs last November, and continued productive work on Alberta’s urgent priorities, including:
- building the TransMountain pipeline expansion project
- an “equalization rebate” from retroactively lifting the per capita cap on the Fiscal Stabilization Program
- addressing the continuing problems with Bill C-69
- support for jobs in the resource and resource-related sector, such as support for decommissioning wells and clean technology
- approval of the Teck Frontier project, which is a test of the federal government’s commitment to evidence-based approval of new energy projects
- equivalency recognition for Alberta’s methane reduction regulations
“I appreciate that Deputy Prime Minister Freeland has taken the time to travel to Alberta and have these important discussions and to see for herself how serious the economic challenges are for Albertans. I reiterated to her Alberta’s urgent priorities – actions that can be taken now by the federal government to show it is committed to addressing our jobs crisis. We’ve offered clear, practical options to the federal government to support our province even as we continue to contribute about $20 billion net each year to the rest of the country. But we need action from Ottawa now.”Premier Jason Kenney
Alberta has contributed $630 billion net to the rest of Canada since 1961. In the last 11 years alone the net transfer from Albertans to the rest of the country was $240 billion.
“Given the massive and disproportionate contributions Alberta has made to the country over the years, and continues to make, it is not too much to ask that the rest of the country now show its commitment to helping us in our time of need – first and foremost by removing barriers to getting our products to market. We are simply asking for fair treatment.”Premier Jason Kenney