Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Wilkinson says there are no "lines in the sand" when it comes to working with Alberta to find common ground on climate action and the energy sector. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says there are no “lines in the sand” when it comes to working with Alberta to find common ground on climate action and the energy sector.
But he acknowledges there is still a lot of daylight between Ottawa’s planned policies to phase out greenhouse-gas emissions from both the electricity and oil and gas sectors and Alberta’s vision.
Wilkinson says his two-hour meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary this afternoon was constructive but there is still a lot of work to do.
Prior to the meeting Smith said she was drawing a line in the sand that Alberta has its own plan for getting to net-zero emissions by 2050 and Ottawa can either get on board or get out of the way.
She says Ottawa’s promises to eliminate emissions from electricity generation by 2035 and cap and phase down emissions from the oil and gas sector by 2030 aren’t realistic for her province.
Wilkinson says the federal Liberals remain committed to those policies but says there is flexibility in achieving them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June19, 2023.
