Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Put Oil 'Crisis' On First Ministers' Agenda: Alberta, Saskatchewan Premiers

The Canadian Press, 04 Dec, 2018 11:20 AM
  • Put Oil 'Crisis' On First Ministers' Agenda: Alberta, Saskatchewan Premiers
Alberta and Saskatchewan want issues facing the oilpatch to be on the agenda when premiers meet with the prime minister later this week.
 
 
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe have made the request in an open letter to Justin Trudeau.
 
 
They say the current agenda does not include any discussion of a crisis facing the energy industry.
 
 
Alberta's oil is currently fetching bargain basement prices thanks to a growing glut and lack of pipeline capacity to get oil to market.
 
 
The premiers say the problem is costing Canada $80 million a day and the meeting agenda should reflect that.
 
 
The premiers are scheduled to meet with Trudeau in Montreal on Friday.
 
 
"During your recent visit to Calgary, you called the economic impact of the oil price differential a 'crisis.' We agree," Notley and Moe wrote in a letter released Tuesday.
 
 
"A crisis of this magnitude must be reflected in any discussion on 'Economic Competitiveness.' We trust that the agenda for our upcoming First Ministers’ Meeting can be revised to better reflect the need for a substantive discussion on issues of critical importance to the Canadian economy."
 
 
While the rest of the world sells its oil at about $50 per barrel, Notley has said Alberta fetches only $10.
 
 
She has ordered a mandatory cut to oil production which amounts to 8.7 per cent of output to reduce the glut of oil forcing the steep discounts. The cuts are scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2019.
 
 
Alberta is also planning on buying as many as 80 locomotives and 7,000 rail tankers — expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars — to move the province's excess oil to markets and address the pipeline bottleneck.
 
 
The Trans Mountain expansion project, which would triple capacity to the B.C. coast, is now in legal limbo despite being approved two years ago as Ottawa revisits the impacts on First Nations and B.C.'s marine environment.

MORE National ARTICLES

WATCH: John Horgan, Andrew Wilkinson Clash In Electoral Reform Debate

The politicians often talked over one another during the heated televised discussion on the province's voting referendum, with Horgan pushing a switch to proportional representation and Wilkinson defending the current first-past-the-post process.

WATCH: John Horgan, Andrew Wilkinson Clash In Electoral Reform Debate

Walk-In Doctors Want Equal Pay But Group Says Relationship With Patients Key

Walk-In Doctors Want Equal Pay But Group Says Relationship With Patients Key
VANCOUVER — Doctors at over 300 walk-in clinics in British Columbia want fair payment for their work compared with those in full family practice, says the head of an association that's rallying its members to increase access and profits through innovative technology.

Walk-In Doctors Want Equal Pay But Group Says Relationship With Patients Key

B.C. Moves Toward Universal Child Care With $10-A-Day Project At 53 Sites

B.C. Moves Toward Universal Child Care With $10-A-Day Project At 53 Sites
VICTORIA — Child care in British Columbia will soon cost as little as $200 a month for some parents in the province. 

B.C. Moves Toward Universal Child Care With $10-A-Day Project At 53 Sites

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum Says Latest Shooting In Newton Is An Example Of Ongoing Trauma

Mounties in Surrey, B.C., say they're investigating the apparent shooting death of a man found outside a home in the Newton neighbourhood.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum Says Latest Shooting In Newton Is An Example Of Ongoing Trauma

22-Year-Old Man Shot And Killed In Surrey, B.C.

The victim was found outside a home on 70A Ave. near 142 St. in Newton just north of Georges Vanier Elementary School at about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

22-Year-Old Man Shot And Killed In Surrey, B.C.

After #MeToo, Canada Sees Sharp Increase In Sexual Assault Complaints

MONTREAL — The number of sexual assault complaints filed with police and classified as founded increased sharply in Canada after the #MeToo movement went viral in October 2017.

After #MeToo, Canada Sees Sharp Increase In Sexual Assault Complaints