High praise.
Rachel Notley hopes Obama's shout-out to Alberta is heard across Canada
When Premier Rachel Notley turned up for Canada Day celebrations at the legislature grounds Friday, she was all smiles.
She happily flipped pancakes, posed for pictures and took part in a citizenship ceremony in front of hundreds of cheerful parents and children who turned up for a free breakfast to celebrate Canada’s 149th birthday. All of it under a beautiful, sunny summer sky.
Notley, who always seems to enjoy meeting the public, was in a particularly good mood because she had a particularly good week. Well, a particularly good Wednesday. Well, a particularly good moment on Wednesday.
Notley had accepted an invitation to stand with dignitaries, Canadian and American, in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to watch U.S. President Barack Obama address Parliament.
During the speech, to Notley’s great surprise and delight, Obama singled out Alberta for praise.
“Alberta, the oil country of Canada, is working hard to reduce emissions while still promoting growth,” said Obama, referring to the Alberta government’s climate change plan. “So if Canada can do it and the United States can do it, the whole world can unleash economic growth and protect our planet. We can do this.”
Obama’s brief mention of Alberta was followed by thunderous applause from the audience — and another surprise for Notley.
“Most of the House of Commons rose to give (Obama) a standing ovation and (U.S.) Secretary of State John Kerry turned around and shook my hand, which was lovely,” Notley told Postmedia on Friday.
But the “lovely” moment for Notley didn’t make headlines. It was ignored by the national media that was mesmerized by the parliamentary swoon over Obama and it was largely overlooked by Alberta’s media, which focused on the province’s $6.4-billion deficit.
And it was dismissed by Notley’s political opponents back home.
“The carbon tax was supposed to buy more than a line in a speech from President Obama,” said Wildrose Leader Brian Jean with a shrug.
Jean’s dismissiveness — and the news media’s indifference — to Obama’s shout-out to Alberta is deeply irritating the NDP government that is fighting, and apparently winning, a battle to improve Alberta’s environmental image.
No, Obama didn’t reverse himself and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, but Notley said his comment Wednesday indicates politicians outside Alberta are viewing the province differently.
“What it shows is that there is a greater level of recognition amongst opinion leaders across the continent that what Alberta is doing is substantial and meaningful,” says Notley. “It therefore means that we’re able to have conversations, for instance on pipelines which we know is critically important to Albertans, with people that we didn’t have conversations with before.”
Notley argues that if other jurisdictions in Canada realize Alberta is becoming an environmental leader, they will no longer feel the need to oppose energy pipelines as a way to strong-arm Alberta into taking action on climate change.
“Our government is taking climate change seriously,” says Notley. “We’re not just putting out press releases saying it.”
For Notley, reversing years of climate inaction by previous Conservative governments — both federal and provincial — remains an uphill fight. Making the climb more onerous is a Federal Court of Appeal decision Thursday that overturned approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. The court said the federal government failed in its duty to consult First Nations along the project’s proposed route through British Columbia.
By “federal government,” the court meant the previous government of Stephen Harper.
The ruling doesn’t mean the Northern Gateway project is dead, but it does mean the new Liberal government might have to redo consultations with indigenous groups.
Notley, never a fan of the controversial project, said the court ruling could be useful in finding ways to get approval for the Kinder Morgan pipeline to the West Coast or Energy East to New Brunswick.
And she’s still hopeful that Obama’s shout-out to Alberta will eventually be heard across Canada.
Rachel Notley hopes Obama’s shout-out to Alberta heard across Canada | Edmonton Journal
Rachel Notley hopes Obama's shout-out to Alberta is heard across Canada
When Premier Rachel Notley turned up for Canada Day celebrations at the legislature grounds Friday, she was all smiles.
She happily flipped pancakes, posed for pictures and took part in a citizenship ceremony in front of hundreds of cheerful parents and children who turned up for a free breakfast to celebrate Canada’s 149th birthday. All of it under a beautiful, sunny summer sky.
Notley, who always seems to enjoy meeting the public, was in a particularly good mood because she had a particularly good week. Well, a particularly good Wednesday. Well, a particularly good moment on Wednesday.
Notley had accepted an invitation to stand with dignitaries, Canadian and American, in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to watch U.S. President Barack Obama address Parliament.
During the speech, to Notley’s great surprise and delight, Obama singled out Alberta for praise.
“Alberta, the oil country of Canada, is working hard to reduce emissions while still promoting growth,” said Obama, referring to the Alberta government’s climate change plan. “So if Canada can do it and the United States can do it, the whole world can unleash economic growth and protect our planet. We can do this.”
Obama’s brief mention of Alberta was followed by thunderous applause from the audience — and another surprise for Notley.
“Most of the House of Commons rose to give (Obama) a standing ovation and (U.S.) Secretary of State John Kerry turned around and shook my hand, which was lovely,” Notley told Postmedia on Friday.
But the “lovely” moment for Notley didn’t make headlines. It was ignored by the national media that was mesmerized by the parliamentary swoon over Obama and it was largely overlooked by Alberta’s media, which focused on the province’s $6.4-billion deficit.
And it was dismissed by Notley’s political opponents back home.
“The carbon tax was supposed to buy more than a line in a speech from President Obama,” said Wildrose Leader Brian Jean with a shrug.
Jean’s dismissiveness — and the news media’s indifference — to Obama’s shout-out to Alberta is deeply irritating the NDP government that is fighting, and apparently winning, a battle to improve Alberta’s environmental image.
No, Obama didn’t reverse himself and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, but Notley said his comment Wednesday indicates politicians outside Alberta are viewing the province differently.
“What it shows is that there is a greater level of recognition amongst opinion leaders across the continent that what Alberta is doing is substantial and meaningful,” says Notley. “It therefore means that we’re able to have conversations, for instance on pipelines which we know is critically important to Albertans, with people that we didn’t have conversations with before.”
Notley argues that if other jurisdictions in Canada realize Alberta is becoming an environmental leader, they will no longer feel the need to oppose energy pipelines as a way to strong-arm Alberta into taking action on climate change.
“Our government is taking climate change seriously,” says Notley. “We’re not just putting out press releases saying it.”
For Notley, reversing years of climate inaction by previous Conservative governments — both federal and provincial — remains an uphill fight. Making the climb more onerous is a Federal Court of Appeal decision Thursday that overturned approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. The court said the federal government failed in its duty to consult First Nations along the project’s proposed route through British Columbia.
By “federal government,” the court meant the previous government of Stephen Harper.
The ruling doesn’t mean the Northern Gateway project is dead, but it does mean the new Liberal government might have to redo consultations with indigenous groups.
Notley, never a fan of the controversial project, said the court ruling could be useful in finding ways to get approval for the Kinder Morgan pipeline to the West Coast or Energy East to New Brunswick.
And she’s still hopeful that Obama’s shout-out to Alberta will eventually be heard across Canada.
Rachel Notley hopes Obama’s shout-out to Alberta heard across Canada | Edmonton Journal
