“The UCP’s resolution is not about jurisdiction. It’s about how weak the UCP’s economic management is.”

EDMONTON – Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan made the following statement in response to the UCP’s resolution to invoke the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act to block federal Clean Energy Regulations:

“Yesterday’s announcement that the Premier is invoking the ‘Sovereignty Act’ to dodge Clean Energy Regulations is a blow to our economy. Tens of thousands of sustainable jobs could have been generated by new energy projects. Communities like Forty Mile, Pincher Creek, and Willow Creek receive millions of dollars in property taxes from renewable facilities and many others could have benefited as well.

“The premier perhaps would have found the regulations less daunting had she not put a freeze on sustainable power projects. Measures like that freeze show that her inability to make Alberta a clean energy powerhouse has less to do with jurisdiction and more to do with the UCP’s collective cowardice.

“Alberta workers are ready to build the projects that can make our province a worldwide leader in clean energy. This includes gas-fired electricity plants with carbon capture, battery storage power stations, and renewable energy facilities.

“Workers will continue to demand better. We will fight for good-paying sustainable energy jobs.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:
John Ashton
Director of Communications, AFL
E-mail: jashton@afl.org

BACKGROUND

• The Pembina Institute reports that the renewable energy moratorium risks as many as 24,000 jobs and $33B in investments.
• Clean Energy Regulations include possible new gas plants, gas plants with CCUS, battery deployment, and expanding transmission lines significantly.