1 week Ago By Rick Bell
On Tuesday, Liberal Leader Mark Carney is in B.C. before heading to a party rally in Calgary.
Calgary is a city where a lot of people have a lot of questions for Carney. Top of the list. If you win the election, are you going to screw over Alberta like the previous Liberal government of Justin Trudeau? Are you going to go where the votes are and pander to people who either don’t care about anything west of Winnipeg or are downright hostile to the West? Or are you going to respect and promote the oil and gas industry in Alberta, the oilpatch creating big-time wealth right across the country? Before he’d left B.
C., a very astute CBC reporter asked Carney how he convinces people in the West he cares about our issues if he can win this election without us. Carney says he is a pragmatist.
He’s here to get things done, he adds. He’s asking, through the Liberals, for the support of all Canadians to serve all Canadians. So far, thin gruel.
Please continue, Mr. Carney. He hauls out the well-worn and now tiresome script.
“I happen to be from the West,” says Carney, the Liberal leader and prime minister. “I have deep ties to Alberta where I grew up.” What does that even mean? You’re not answering the question, Mr.
Carney. “I know the West,” he says. A tip to Team Carney.
That answer will not fly in Alberta. In fact, you will not even get the engine started with that old routine. I grew up in Edmonton, trust me.
Puh-leeze! RelatedSmith says she won't 'shut up' after Carney jab at campaign rallyQuebec should use oil from Alberta, not the U.S., Carney says The newshound asks a second question and it is also a doozy.
Does Carney worry making jokes about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will contribute to Western alienation? My previous column tells that story. Of course not, is Carney’s response. His mocking of Smith was “light-hearted.
” Carney says he has a lot of respect for the premier. Really? Her people figure you misled her twice, on lifting the emissions cap on oil and gas and killing the No More Pipelines law. It appears you do not intend to do either.
Not a good first impression. As for the Alberta government’s list of things they want fixed, actions taken by the Trudeau Liberal government and hurtful to the province, we’ve heard nothing but crickets. Carney tells us there is a lot of opportunity for Alberta and his Liberal government “will spare no effort” to make sure the people of Alberta and Canada realize the opportunities.
Good news. You’re not saying: Let them eat cake. Bad news.
It’s not that much better. This is an election. It’s time to pony up with some concrete commitments.
Meanwhile, at a huge rally in the Edmonton area Monday night , former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper spoke in support of current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Harper told Conservative supporters this is the most important decision the country is going to make in decades. The former PM says there is no sugar-coating the fact the country is facing a challenging time with U.
S. President Donald Trump. At this point, some Canadians will go on and on about Canada as the 51st state and even a possible U.
S. Army invasion of Canada. With Trudeau gone, you don’t hear Trump talking about the 51st state but the press keep asking about the terrible day Canada ceases to exist.
Back in the real world, Harper thinks the bulk of the problems affecting the country including “the growing divisions between our regions and our people” were not created by Trump. They were created by the Liberals who like to talk endlessly about Trump so you don’t start talking about them. Harper gets a big Alberta cheer talking about getting our resources to the whole world.
Are you listening, Mr. Carney? The challenge from Trump, says Harper, “should not be another excuse for Liberal failure.” Bingo! The visual of the big crowd should finally penetrate the big political brains of Toronto and Ottawa.
A lot of people out here are pissed off. At a press conference in Edmonton, Poilievre talks about the anti-oilpatch actions Carney will not reverse. “Because he has a banker’s haircut and he wears a normal pair of navy blue socks, don’t think his positions on these issues are different than Trudeau.
” The Conservative leader accuses Carney of being a crony capitalist, a political grifter who uses political influence for his benefit at the expense of workers and seniors. You would think the NDP would be taking up a defence of the working class. They’re busy chasing unicorns into oblivion.
Meanwhile, Carney goes on about building big projects but offering nothing of substance in answering the question. Are you going to screw over Alberta like Trudeau did? Carney will have to do better in Calgary . rbell@postmedia.
com.
