Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Rachel Notley To Skip Premiers Conference So She Can Focus On Pipeline Deal

The Canadian Press, 22 May, 2018 11:53 AM
    EDMONTON — There won't be any fireworks between the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia at the Western premiers conference this week, because Alberta Premier Rachel Notley isn't going.
     
     
    B.C.'s John Horgan and Notley, who have butted heads over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, were both scheduled to be in Yellowknife at the conference, which begins with an event Tuesday night before the premiers get down to business on Wednesday.
     
     
    But Cheryl Oates, a spokeswoman for Notley, said in an email Monday afternoon that Notley will be staying in Alberta to complete a deal to secure the construction of the pipeline.
     
     
    Kinder Morgan has ceased all non-essential spending on the project until it receives assurances it can proceed without delays, setting a May 31 deadline on getting those guarantees.
     
     
    "With 10 days remaining before Kinder Morgan's deadline, my only priority is to make sure the pipeline gets built," Notley said in a tweet.
     
     
    Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman will be attending the conference on Notley's behalf.
     
     
    Horgan said last week that B.C. and Alberta disagree on the pipeline expansion, but that he and Notley are in agreement on a number of other issues, and have been friends for 20 years.
     
     
    Horgan said he didn't anticipate any high tension at the conference, even when Notley was still planning to be there, and that he expected the main focus of the meeting to be the development of a national pharmacare program.
     
     
    Notley, however, fired back on Twitter on Monday evening.
     
     
    "It would be surreal and exceptionally tone deaf for anyone to think we could politely discuss pharmacare and cannabis when one of the players is hard at work trying to choke the economic lifeblood of the province and the country," the Alberta premier wrote.
     
     
    Horgan wasn't commenting Monday on Notley's decision to skip the conference.
     
     
    Alberta has passed legislation allowing it to limit fuel exports to B-C, but British Columbia countered by announcing plans for a lawsuit that would declare Alberta's legislation unconstitutional.
     
     
    Even without the Alberta premier's presence at the premiers conference, Horgan could still face pressure from other premiers.
     
     
    Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said last week that he wants to speak about the pipeline's benefits when he's at the conference.
     
     
    "I'm very concerned that we are missing an opportunity here in this nation to advance our economic benefit here, not just in Saskatchewan, but in Western Canada and the nation of Canada," Moe said.
     
     
    Moe has said the federal government should withhold sending federal infrastructure money to B.C. over that province's opposition to Trans Mountain.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Hundreds of Fort McMurray Insurance Claims Unresolved Two Years After Wildfire

    "This is unprecedented, not just for the people of Wood Buffalo, but for our industry," Bill Adams, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said Wednesday.

    Hundreds of Fort McMurray Insurance Claims Unresolved Two Years After Wildfire

    Sex Assault Supports Vary In B.C. Universities A Year After Provincial Bill

    One year after a bill came into effect requiring British Columbia universities to have sexual assault policies, the supports available at different schools still vary widely and students are urging the province to fill a funding gap.

    Sex Assault Supports Vary In B.C. Universities A Year After Provincial Bill

    Kids Still Being Locked Up, Held Down In B.C. Schools: Advocacy Group

    Kids Still Being Locked Up, Held Down In B.C. Schools: Advocacy Group
    VANCOUVER — An advocacy group says children in British Columbia are still being held down and confined in locked rooms, despite calls to change how educators address student behaviour.

    Kids Still Being Locked Up, Held Down In B.C. Schools: Advocacy Group

    Thunderstorms Expected To Add To Flood Woes In South-Central British Columbia

    GRAND FORKS, B.C. — Federal help is on the way for flooded communities in south-central British Columbia as they brace for more high water caused by rapidly melting snowpacks and potentially heavy rain.

    Thunderstorms Expected To Add To Flood Woes In South-Central British Columbia

    B.C. Securities Regulator Warns About Investing In Cryptocurrencies

    VANCOUVER — British Columbia's securities regulator has joined its Ontario counterpart in issuing a warning about investing in cryptocurrencies amid worries the lightly regulated market is ripe for possible financial scams.

    B.C. Securities Regulator Warns About Investing In Cryptocurrencies

    Canadians Gather In Churches, Theatres, Halls For Royal Wedding Viewing Parties

    Canadians Gather In Churches, Theatres, Halls For Royal Wedding Viewing Parties
    BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C. — Donna Otto hasn't decided on wearing a fascinator or a new hat on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day, but she knows where she'll be at 4 a.m. on Saturday when the royal couple say their 'I dos.'

    Canadians Gather In Churches, Theatres, Halls For Royal Wedding Viewing Parties