Everyone has an “other,” an enemy, because there always must be a threat on the horizon, real or imagined, that pushes one’s own society to do better. For the Medieval Brits, it was the French; for the Victorian Brits, it was also the French, as well as the Turks.
For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it’s Alberta.
This is nothing new: Alberta has always been the black sheep province to this government, but it doesn’t hurt to have a refresher as to why. Trudeau kindly provided one this week on a delegation to the frontier, during which time he explained on Edmonton-based
podcast, Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen, the failings of the Albertan mind.
“The world is looking at net-zero right now, but right-wing ideology is getting in the way of Alberta’s success,” he said.
Trudeau was frustrated at the inadequate pace of Alberta’s shift to renewable energy — and the pesky resistance the province puts up in the face of Ottawa. Albertans, oil workers in particular, are well-meaning people with solid potential, but have unfortunately fallen from grace. Here’s an example of one (abridged) exchange.
Trudeau: “Albertans are getting fooled by right-wing politicians.”
Jespersen: “They feel that it’s you that’s been imposing Liberal ideology onto the oilsands.”
Trudeau: “What have we imposed on the oilsands?”
The prime minister seemed to be ignorant to the numerous legal adjustments he’s made to the energy sector in his time in charge. There’s the federal carbon tax, which mandates a rising minimum carbon price backstop to be paid by industrial emitters — and which adds to the daily cost of life of every Albertan.
There’s the Liberal overhaul to environmental assessment legislation, which greatly constricted natural resource development — so much so that it was later found to be largely
unconstitutional for regulating beyond federal jurisdiction. Then, there’s everything else in the works, like the
proposed emissions cap on the oil and gas industry.
Still, it’s the Albertans who are mis-thinking here, according to Trudeau.
“That is what is hurting oilsands workers, and they’ve been fooled by people who are saying, ‘Oh no, climate change is a Liberal, or Chinese plot, you don’t have to worry about it, just keep doing things exactly as they were a decade ago.”
It’s a caricature, but it’s a useful one for Trudeau, who has very little else to position himself against. Foreign nations are largely off-limits, as “othering” anyone during a period of near-religious adherence to Official Multiculturalism is simply out of the question.
Expanded upon here:
The prime minister can't stop treating us like the 'other'
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For a proper foe, he has to look inward.
Alberta is a perfectly-positioned opponent to Ottawa. Offending its people will not lead to any significant loss of seats — the Liberals won
four Alberta seats in 2015, which is a great performance,
historically-speaking. Since then, all but one of these seats has been lost. Albertans aren’t disproportionately in power-broker roles in the federal public service, unlike fellow rabble-rouser Quebec.
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And importantly, the image of a science-disbelieving, anti-innovation, non-progressive redneck in a gas-burning truck driving ruts around uncapped and abandoned oil wells — an image evoked in Trudeau’s podcast soliloquy — is an easy opponent to ridicule. It doesn’t violate the rules of diversity and inclusion, importantly, the “stereotypical Albertan” wasn’t assigned systemic disadvantage at birth. Instead, Albertans have squandered their many advantages, and it just so happens that it fell to Trudeau to give them some tough, reformative love.
Alberta and its oil and gas industry aren’t the biggest enemy of this country. Emissions are higher in the province, sure — but that’s a factor of the natural resources hand that was dealt here. Environmental standards are high, and reclamation projects are an expensive but rewarding fact of life. The corporate players, Trudeau’s villainous polluters, have poured billions into innovation and are shooting for net-zero by 2050 — not fast enough for Trudeau’s liking, but laudable nonetheless.
The Prime Minister also said the transformation of the energy sector is 'not a plot' to phase out oilsands
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Would it be better for Canada if China was positioned as the enemy instead? Sure, but this place is run by cowards who would rather attack their own.
edmontonjournal.com
