CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) –– Shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government introduced its controversial “Just Transition” climate bill, Alberta’s premier slammed the proposed legislation, vowing to protect her province from harm.
On June 15, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith condemned the Trudeau government’s “Sustainable Jobs Act” – which was introduced into Parliament that same day – reaffirming her past promise to defend her “province’s constitutional jurisdiction” over its “natural resources” and “energy workforce.”
“To be clear,” Smith began, “If this new advisory council provides the federal government with recommendations that are inconsistent with Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan or otherwise interferes with our province’s constitutional jurisdiction over the development of our natural resources and regulation of our energy workforce, Alberta will not recognize the legitimacy of those recommendations in any manner.”
The Sustainable Jobs Act is just one piece of the Trudeau government’s larger “Just Transition” environmental regulations plan, which has the terminal goal of banning the use of coal and gas-fired power after the year 2035.
“I remind the federal government that due to emissions reduction technologies, oil and gas sector jobs are also sustainable jobs and will continue to be so for many decades and beyond,” continued Smith. “This must be clearly recognized by the government and its new advisory panel members.”
“Alberta will not recognize, cooperate with or enforce any attempt to phase out our province’s oil and gas industry or its workforce. This is non-negotiable,” she urged.
As characterized by Smith, in an attempt to keep Canadians employed as oil plants are shut down, the Sustainable Jobs Act will form an “advisory council that will provide the federal government with recommendations on how to support the Canadian workforce during transition to a ‘net zero economy.’“
Smith is not alone in opposing the push for bans on, or a transitioning away from, natural resources. In May, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stated that the province would continue to run plants regardless of federal mandates.
Moe said that to completely outlaw coal and natural gas from power generation by 2035 is both expensive and impractical.
“The federal government’s standards for zero emission electrical generation by 2035 are unrealistic and unaffordable,” he said.
“They mean SaskPower rates would more than double, and we may not have enough generation to keep the lights on,” Moe continued. “I am not going to let that happen.”
“In order to keep rates affordable, existing assets including natural gas plants will be used until end of life,” he said, adding that Saskatchewan could reach net-zero carbon status by 2050.
The Trudeau government’s current environmental goals – in lockstep with the United Nations’ “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” – include phasing out coal-fired power plants, reducing fertilizer usage, and curbing natural gas use over the coming decades.
The reduction and eventual elimination of the use of so-called “fossil-fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda – an organization which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.
While Trudeau’s plan has been pushed under the guise of “sustainability,” his intention to decrease nitrous oxide emissions by limiting the use of fertilizer has been criticized by farmers. They say this will reduce profits and could even lead to food shortages.
Moreover, experts are warning that the Trudeau government’s new “clean fuel” regulations, which come into effect next year, will cost Canadian workers – many of whom are already struggling under decades-high inflation rates – an average $1,277 extra annually.