Close X
    Sunday, November 24, 2024
    ADVT 
    National

    Damage Control Needed On Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney's India Trip: Trade Minister

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Sep, 2018 12:28 PM
      EDMONTON — The Alberta government says it will be doing "damage control" after Opposition leader Jason Kenney's visit to India.
       
       
      Trade Minister Deron Bilous says there appears to be confusion in India over who Kenney is speaking for and questions over what he is saying as he meets this week with business and political leaders.
       
       
      "There's already been confusion," Bilous said Tuesday, citing a social media post from an Indian government cabinet minister who referred to Kenney as a minister of the Crown. "We don't know exactly what he is saying, how he is portraying himself."
       
       
      Bilous said Kenney doesn't speak on behalf of the government of Alberta or the government of Canada.
       
       
      "What we don't know is if he is clarifying where there are misunderstandings ... but we're not about to let this visit of Mr. Kenney's potentially damage the government of Alberta's relationship with India."
       
       
      Bilous said they will do follow-up work to deal with any confusion.
       
       
      "We've directed our Alberta trade office to do damage control, correcting the record wherever we can," he said.
       
       
      "They'll be doing follow-up conversations with all of the Indian officials that Mr. Kenney meets with."
       
       
      Kenney and two caucus members are using their own money and United Conservative Party funds for the trip to promote Alberta's oil industry and express concerns about Indian tariffs on peas and lentils.
       
       
      Nitin Gadkari, the minister responsible for roads and other resources, tweeted out this week, "Met Mr. Jason Kenney, Hon'ble Minister, Alberta, Canada. We discussed about exploring areas of mutual co-operation in infrastructure sector."
       
      Kenney has also given multiple interviews with media in that country making statements that appear to conflict with ones made earlier in Alberta.
       
       
      Speaking to CNN-News18, he urged Indians to invest, saying, "Canada, amongst the developed countries — Alberta in particular — have low taxes. We have one of the best educated workforces, efficient power prices. We have a lot of strategic advantages for that kind of investment."
       
       
      Kenney's UCP has, in fact, been sharply critical of Premier Rachel Notley's power pricing system and its tax regime.
       
       
      Two months ago, Kenney said the current Alberta tax program was not luring investment but in fact undermining it, and that if his party forms government, he will axe the existing carbon tax and then look at further tax reductions.
       
       
      "I want to cut other taxes to help bring back investment and get people working again," Kenney said in a PostMedia interview published July 12.
       
       
      Bilous said he hopes Albertans are scratching their heads.
       
       
      "Mr. Kenney is saying one thing to Albertans and another to an international audience," he said.
       
       
      "This is where it is critical that our Alberta office in India will be following up with all the officials that Mr. Kenney meets with."
       
       
      UCP spokeswoman Christine Myatt said Kenney connected with Bilous prior to the trip and is working to build a positive "Team Alberta" approach.
       
       
      "It is disappointing to hear the minister suggest that Mr. Kenney’s visit to India has or will in any way hurt Alberta," Myatt said in a statement.
       
       
      "Mr. Kenney is more than happy to forward Alberta and Canada's interests while in India, utilizing his high-level international connections.
       
       
      "It's quite clear that this latest NDP smear job is a desperate attempt to distract from its disastrous record.”
       
       
      Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier has led two trade missions to India over the last two years on behalf of the province.
      Prev Next

      MORE National ARTICLES

      Maxime Bernier Put Own Ambitions Ahead Of Party, Country, Says Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer

        HALIFAX — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is accusing Quebec MP and former leadership rival Maxime Bernier of putting his own personal ambitions ahead of the chance to make Canada a better place.

      Maxime Bernier Put Own Ambitions Ahead Of Party, Country, Says Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer

      Maxime Bernier Quits Conservatives, Plans To Start New Party

      Maxime Bernier Quits Conservatives, Plans To Start New Party
      Maverick Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, whose open defiance has been a major headache for the Opposition Conservatives, is quitting the party — and he's not pulling his punches.

      Maxime Bernier Quits Conservatives, Plans To Start New Party

      DARPAN's Extraordinary Achievement Awards 2018 Are Almost Here!

      DARPAN's Extraordinary Achievement Awards 2018 Are Almost Here!
      The nominations for the much-awaited 9th Annual DARPAN Extraordinary Achievement Awards are now open. 

      DARPAN's Extraordinary Achievement Awards 2018 Are Almost Here!

      Protesters Accuse Trudeau Of Fiddling On Pipeline While Climate Change Burns BC

      NANAIMO, B.C. — Justin Trudeau's twin objectives to reduce Canada's carbon emissions and build a pipeline to carry oilsands bitumen to the coast are colliding in a province ravaged by wildfires that the prime minister's own government attributes to climate change.

      Protesters Accuse Trudeau Of Fiddling On Pipeline While Climate Change Burns BC

      Wildfires Have Potential To Add Touch Of Smoke To British Columbia Wines

      Wildfires Have Potential To Add Touch Of Smoke To British Columbia Wines
      Winemakers can only hope the scent of smoke that's in the air across British Columbia from wildfires won't swirl in the glass once this year's vintages have been bottled.

      Wildfires Have Potential To Add Touch Of Smoke To British Columbia Wines

      Children, Elderly At Risk As Smoke From Distant Fires Hangs Over Parts Of B.C.

      Children, Elderly At Risk As Smoke From Distant Fires Hangs Over Parts Of B.C.
        "You can't hold as much air in your lungs, that's the natural part of the aging process, but it means the smoke might have more effect on you than a healthy younger person, especially if you happen to have some chronic disease," Henderson said.

      Children, Elderly At Risk As Smoke From Distant Fires Hangs Over Parts Of B.C.

      PrevNext