The former NDP government’s Bighorn Country plan will be scrapped as promised by the newly crowned UCP administration, said Alberta’s new minister of Environment and Parks.
However, some aspects of the proposal might yet be incorporated into future conservation efforts pending further review and consultations, Jason Nixon, MLA for the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre riding, said last week.
“If there are components of the NDP plan that makes sense after that consultation, of course that’ll be kept,” said Nixon.
“But the Bighorn Country plan will not be adopted as proposed by the NDP,” he added.
For the time being, the new government intends to turn back to the North Saskatchewan Regional Plan that was already in place, and will continue working hand in hand with municipalities, communities and stakeholders, he said.
Plans to move forward with a type of trail fee to raise funds to help cover the cost of tackling conservation issues are clearly spelled out in the UCP’s platform on conservation, he said.
“That money will be invested in three key areas,” he said.
Those are: trail maintenance and working with partners such as volunteer off-highway vehicle groups to, for example, build bridges over wet areas to protect sensitive streams; increase enforcement for infractions or abuse of land; and also to provide support and resources to municipalities and emergency groups such as search and rescue organizations that also play a role in managing the vast West Country, he said.
“It will take some time to structure that and deal with legislated changes that will be required.”
As for the carbon tax, Nixon said the UCP made no secret about the party’s intention to make repealing the levy a priority upon being elected into office.
“That’s a commitment we made…Albertans gave us a mandate to do that,” he said.
“The repeal bill will be the first piece of legislation we see” following the Throne Speech on Wednesday, May 22 after the long weekend, he said.
Nixon said, “We’ll continue with the legal battle,” when asked how the provincial government plans to proceed when the federal Liberal government imposes its own version of the carbon tax on Albertans, and whether the recent court decision in Saskatchewan declaring the levy constitutional had changed those plans,
The UCP intends to support its conservative counterparts in Saskatchewan and Ontario, and will exercise every legal avenue available to challenge the tax, he said. The main way to eventually defeat the levy at the federal level will be to support Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer in his bid to become Canada’s next prime minister this fall, he added
In the meantime, a question mark looms over the fate of the fledgling Energy Efficiency Alberta. The carbon tax-funded agency was introduced by the one-term NDP government in an attempt to assist Albertans, businesses and non-profit groups improve energy efficiencies while at the same time reducing the cost of bills and emissions.
Nixon said the new government might make adjustments to the agency and its programs, and that the UCP’s focus on that file will be to develop and use technologies to improve efficiencies and reduce emissions.
The MLA said he was still being briefed on his department’s files and would be further reviewing programs and policies tied to the carbon tax before making any final decisions. However, the UCP does plan to do away with costly subsidies to the green industry, he said.
In the meantime, non-profit organizations that had undergone energy efficiency audits through the agency to apply for funding for infrastructure upgrades, such as the Sundre and District Aquatic Society, which operates the Aquaplex, could expect a followup from the minister in the near future, he said.
“Where they were at in their application process, I don’t know,” he said. When possible, he said he planned to “reach out to them at the Aquaplex to see where their projects are at. But the biggest thing they asked for was to get rid of the carbon tax.”
In terms of a strategy on developing a diverse energy industry that alongside the oil and gas sector, also includes renewables from wind and solar to geothermal, Nixon reiterated the UCP’s desire to focus on technology in the effort to tackle climate change.
“We want to make Alberta one of the biggest energy producers in the world,” he said.
“Our approach on this is technology and investing in the right places to develop that technology.”
The province will benefit from new technologies as they are developed, he said, adding specific program announcements will come following further internal reviews.
The government also remains committed to creating a “war room” to defend Alberta’s oil and gas industry, he said.
Nixon cited allegations from Vivian Krause when asked what specific proof the UCP has that strings are being pulled by foreign investors embarking on a mission to undermine Canada’s energy sector through non-profit organizations. Krause has for years claimed a link between outside influencers funnelling money to groups that seek to sabotage development in the oilfield.
In 2017, the oil and gas sector received foreign investments to the tune of more than $120 billion, according to federal government numbers. Krause’s research indicates that a multitude of non-profit green groups in Canada have received less than half a billion dollars over the course of more than a decade.
When reminded that foreign investments have in the past also helped fund substantial environmental conservation efforts in partnership with the federal government, such as the 2008 initiative to improve protections of a B.C. rain forest that was at the time praised by the former Harper government, Nixon said, “Some of these organizations do good work. But there are components of that money going to attacking the industry.”
The UCP and Albertans, he said, are not only proud of the oil and gas sector, but also the benefits the industry provides the province — and by extension the entire country — by being a major economic driver.
“Our commitment is to defend the industry,” he said.
“We want to attract investment from all over the world in our energy industry and make it clear to the world that Alberta is open for business.”
