Premier Jason Kenney and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke for 20 minutes Thursday morning, mostly about the latest COVID-19 wave, says the provincial government.
Kenney asked the federal government to supply doses of the Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine to Alberta. Albertans in areas of low vaccine uptake have said they are waiting for Janssen doses to be made available, according to a statement from the province.
The province said Trudeau affirmed Alberta’s request of 20,000 doses and said that the federal government would be happy to help.
Kenney also raised the importance of having rapid antigen tests available to employers across the economy in Alberta and asked to ensure they are available. Trudeau confirmed that the federal government has a significant inventory of rapid tests and will look into private sector availability.
Trudeau also reiterated the federal government’s offer of support through additional health-care resources. Kenney thanked Trudeau for the offer and confirmed that the governments of Canada and Alberta are working on providing additional resources from the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Red Cross.
The province said the prime minister appreciated Alberta supplying additional personal protective equipment to other provinces at the onset of the pandemic.
The statement said Kenney told Trudeau that Alberta wants to work with the prime minister’s new cabinet on ensuring regulatory stability and predictability so large-scale investments in job-creating and emissions-lowering projects can proceed.
The two leaders also discussed continental energy security via the completion of the Enbridge Line 3 replacement project and the importance of the Line 5 pipeline crossing as well as the federal government’s child care program.
Premier Kenney said Alberta approved a new negotiating mandate to get a deal done on child care funding.