Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Man Dies In Penticton, B.C., Police Cell While Awaiting Court Hearing

    Man Dies In Penticton, B.C., Police Cell While Awaiting Court Hearing
    British Columbia's police watchdog has been called in to investigate the death of a man in a Penticton, B.C., jail cell.

    Man Dies In Penticton, B.C., Police Cell While Awaiting Court Hearing

    Three People Dead After Small Plane Goes Down In Northwest Territories

    Three People Dead After Small Plane Goes Down In Northwest Territories
    The Transportation Safety Board says three people have died in a light plane crash on a lake west of Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories.

    Three People Dead After Small Plane Goes Down In Northwest Territories

    Liberal MP Iqra Khalid Apologizes, Rescinds Award To Man Labelled Purveyor Of Anti-Semitism

    A Liberal MP has apologized and rescinded a certificate of appreciation she presented last week to a man a Jewish advocacy group calls a purveyor of anti-Semitism.

    Liberal MP Iqra Khalid Apologizes, Rescinds Award To Man Labelled Purveyor Of Anti-Semitism

    Donald Trump Suggests Canada Has Been Sidelined From Latest NAFTA Negotiations

    Donald Trump Suggests Canada Has Been Sidelined From Latest NAFTA Negotiations
    U.S. President Donald Trump is suggesting Canada has deliberately been left on NAFTA's sidelines as one-on-one talks heat up between Washington and Mexico.

    Donald Trump Suggests Canada Has Been Sidelined From Latest NAFTA Negotiations

    Military Calls Of Alberta Search After Missing Cessna 172 Found, Pilot Dead

    Military Calls Of Alberta Search After Missing Cessna 172 Found, Pilot Dead
    The Royal Canadian Air Force says the search for a missing pilot and his Cessna 172 has ended with the discovery of the light plane and a body in a wooded area northwest of Edmonton.

    Military Calls Of Alberta Search After Missing Cessna 172 Found, Pilot Dead

    Happy Birthday Boler: 100s Of Cute Campers In Winnipeg For Anniversary Gathering

    Happy Birthday Boler: 100s Of Cute Campers In Winnipeg For Anniversary Gathering
    Angela Durand sits outside her camper which is decorated to look just like the yellow submarine in the well-known song by The Beatles.

    Happy Birthday Boler: 100s Of Cute Campers In Winnipeg For Anniversary Gathering