Alberta’s NDP
February 05, 2015
EDMONTON – NDP Energy critic Brian Mason said today that Jim Prentice is wasting his time in the United States trying to promote an environmental policy that he himself referred to as a science experiment.
Yesterday, Prentice referred to carbon capture and storage as a “game changing technology,” just months after he referred to carbon capture as a “science experiment.”
“While his Finance Minister is at home trying to sell the PCs’ fiscal policy that has failed ordinary Alberta families, the Premier has taken a week away from Alberta to sell an environmental policy that he doesn’t believe in.” Mason said.
“But not only is Prentice attempting to sell Americans a line about carbon capture—he’s also in Washington and New York, lobbying for a pipeline that would sell out opportunities for long-term jobs upgrading product here in Alberta.”
Mason posed two questions that Prentice needs to answer:
1. If Prentice believes, as he stated, that carbon capture is “game changing technology”, and is no longer the “science experiment” that he criticized in July and again in October, will he provide further public resources to these projects?
2. If Prentice believes, as his Finance Minister has said “that we must get off the oil train”, why does he support expanding the export of raw bitumen to create US jobs and US business opportunities, rather than more upgrading and processing of our resources here, in line with the philosophy of Peter Lougheed and the Alberta NDP? Why are there no actions to support diversification which would create Alberta jobs?
“Albertans deserve straight answers to these questions,” Mason said. “Again and again, Alberta families are left wondering why the PC government can’t be trusted to plan for our future—for future prosperity, to protect our natural environment and to improve our international reputation.”
