Alberta's government wants federal party leaders to heed a request made by energy industry leaders to declare an energy crisis and prioritize energy projects.
Build Canada Now issued an open letter on March 18, signed by 14 energy executives, that said declaring the crisis will allow the federal government to use all its emergency powers to ensure that the "dramatic regulatory restructuring required to expand the oil and natural gas sector is rapidly achieved."
Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean both wholeheartedly support the call by the business leaders to find a new way of getting major projects built.
“Over the last couple of months, we have seen the discussion around our oil and gas shifting across the country, and these industry leaders have captured this spirit perfectly in their letter to the federal party leaders," said Smith and Jean, in a statement.
“The world is desperately looking for predictable, affordable and accessible energy. Alberta has one of the largest oil and gas deposits on the planet, including by far the largest of any free and democratic nation."
They said a recently released study on Alberta’s oil and gas reserves found 1.36 quadrillion cubic feet of gas and 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, of which more than 130 trillion cubic feet of gas and 167 billion barrels of oil are recoverable with today’s technology.
“To leave this treasured resource in the ground would be an outright betrayal of current and future generations of Canadians."
Smith and Jean said during the last decade of Liberal-NDP government multiple destructive energy policies have resulted in more than $280 billion dollars in projects being delayed, cancelled or shut in by the proponents. These are projects that would have created tens of thousands of jobs, generated hundreds of billions in government revenues, secured energy security for Eastern Canada and made our nation less dependent on the United States.
They said Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to call an election immediately so the next government can begin to undo the tremendous damage the previous federal government has done to this country, and most especially, to Alberta.
“Alberta’s energy sector has long been the economic engine of Canada and has never been more critical to Canadian sovereignty and prosperity.
“Ottawa’s elected eco-extremists have done everything they can to keep our oil and gas in the ground – that has to change now."
