Bell: Smith vows to work with Carney, says he is way better than Justin Trudeau
Truth be told this is not a column where the headline is shouting outrage, where Alberta against Ottawa sounds like an old-school wrestling cage match.
You know the headline. DANIELLE SMITH SLAMS MARK CARNEY. Alberta premier says Prime Minister Carney is just another Justin Trudeau.
That IS NOT the headline this day because that is NOT the story.
Canada's premiers met with Carney Monday and Smith came out of the gabfest … very encouraged.
She wasn't gushing like Ontario Premier Doug Ford who sung Love Is In The Air and compared Carney to Santa Claus.
Ford, after all, is Carney's BFF.
But Smith was feeling pretty good.
We still have no idea whether or not Smith's idea of an oil pipeline to the west coast will be fast-tracked as a nation-building project by the Carney government but the Alberta premier is very encouraged.
We still have no idea whether what Smith calls the Nine Terrible Laws, Liberal anti-oil policies, are going to be killed or rewritten by Carney.
You know, the cap on oil and gas emissions and the No More Pipelines law and the tanker ban off the B.C. coast and the net-zero electricity regulations and the list goes on.
Despite what the future may hold, Smith is happy to tell you she feels Carney is way better than former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
When asked by this scribbler how she rates Monday's meeting — 10 means bring out the champagne and one is a sit-down with Steven Guilbeault, Trudeau's green guru — Smith put it as a five.
A five out of 10 on your kid's math test is not good news but five out of 10 with a Liberal prime minister is apparently reason to be optimistic.
Proposed fast-tracking of national projects 'serious threat' to treaty rights: AFN Chief
Bell: Danielle Smith and Alberta give Mark Carney an offer he shouldn't refuse
The premier says Carney is a 'dramatic improvement' over Trudeau since he recognizes the value of Alberta oil and wants to get it to market and get it to Asia.
Smith still insists Carney must do something about the anti-oil, anti-Alberta Nine Terrible Laws.
You can't get investors to pony up big dough for a pipeline with anti-oil laws on the books. Even Liberals should understand that.
She says success only comes with someone to bankroll the pipeline and we see the shovels in the ground.
'That's why there are a lot more steps we need to go through before anyone breaks out the champagne.'
Still, the premier likes what she hears in the change of tone from the days of Trudeau. She is willing to work with Carney 'in a spirit of good will.'
Smith is willing to give it a try.
'I think the prime minister was pressed many times by many reporters: Are you talking about oil? Yes. Are you talking about bitumen? Yes. Are you talking about a pipeline going to the northwest coast of B.C.? Yes. He didn't back down on that,' says Smith.
Smith says the fact Carney is saying the same thing to the press as he said to the premiers behind closed doors on Monday means 'he genuinely wants to find a path to do that.'
To see a west coast pipeline up and running.
'So I'm genuinely going to work on that,' says Smith.
Why is Smith considerably more confident with Carney than with Trudeau?
'Remember, Trudeau had the moment when he said what his true views were, that the oilsands would have to be kept in the ground.
'He had an environment minister who kept on talking about phasing out oil and gas and he never reined him in and, in fact, he gave him license to pass terrible laws to do just that.'
Smith then points to Carney, who the premier says sidelined Guilbeault, the environment minister under Trudeau, made Tim Hodgson — who has built pipelines in the past — his point man on oil and gas and talks about Canada being an energy superpower.
'That should give Albertans some reason for optimism.'
The Alberta premier adds most Albertans are telling her to give Carney a chance.
'At the moment he is demonstrating he is moving in a different direction than his predecessor. I'm prepared to work with him.'
And so we are left to see how the next act unfolds.
'It will become evident pretty quickly whether or not it's real or whether it's smoke or mirrors.
'At the moment I don't know the answer to that. I'm going to proceed as if we're going to get to an agreement that will be to the benefit of Albertans.'
rbell@postmedia.com
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