Federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair came to Alberta Thursday calling for better enforcement of environmental regulations to help diversify the country’s economy.
Mulcair visited the province on Wednesday and Thursday, touring an oilsands facility near Fort McMurray and meeting with deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk.
Mulcair has been criticized for saying the oilsands are artificially inflating the Canadian dollar, in turn hurting other parts of the economy. He softened, but did not change his message on Thursday.
“Right now Canada is suffering some of the predictable effects where we have an influx of currency from other countries, particularly U.S. dollars.”
He said the entire country could be doing well economically, if the federal government took the right steps.
“I believe that together we can build a diverse, balanced economy for Canadians.”
He charged that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is failing to enforce environmental legislation, giving oilsands producers a break and making their projects more profitable than they would be if they were playing by the roles.
“The federal government is failing to enforce existing legislation and right now that is causing serious problems.”
He said he was not targeting the oilsands, but wanted an approach to environmental regulation that treated everyone the same.
“We want the exact same approach across Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, an approach based on sustainable development.”
Premier Alison Redford was not on hand for Mulcair’s visit, but he endorsed her plan for a Canadian Energy Strategy.
“We need a national conversation about how we develop our country’s natural resources,” he said, adding he also wants to see more of Canada’s energy resources upgraded in Canada rather than shipped raw out of the country.
Mulcair also discussed the need for a cap-and-trade system that would regulate carbon emissions. He said the challenge of global warming had to be faced head-on with real action.
“If we don’t assume (the challenges) in this generation we are going to have to assume them in another generation,” he said. “We are living off the credit card of our grandchildren and that is something I want to see changed.”
Wildrose leader Danielle Smith said a cap-and-trade system would hurt Alberta’s economy.
“He has talked about adding a tax on the price of carbon, which we know is a wealth transfer out of the west to the rest of the country.”
She said it was good to hear him speaking in a more nuanced way about oilsands development than he has before.
“He is certainly giving a different and very conciliatory message now that he is here in person and I think that is a very positive thing.”
Smith said Mulcair’s comments show the need for Redford to say more about her proposed Canadian energy strategy, because Alberta needs to talk about how it will develop its resources.
“Until she starts putting some meat on the bones we are going to see that others are defining the agenda.”
