UCP leader Jason Kenney has promised Albertans a referendum on equalization payments if a pipeline isn’t built within 3 years.
The promise comes at a time when Kenney is campaigning to be elected the Premier of Alberta.
Kenney hopes to use the threat of a cancellation as a means to prompt Ottawa into further action regarding pipelines.
“The centrepiece of our platform is fighting back against the foreign-funded special interests and the Trudeau-Notley alliance that have landlocked our energy,” said Kenney about his party’s policy.
Throughout his campaign, Kenney has attacked what he calls the “Trudeau-Notley” alliance which he blames for the province’s oil and economy troubles.
The UCP platform plan for a referendum also includes a call for the federal government to repeal Bill C-69, which is a piece of legislation which inserts divisive identity politics into the pipeline approval process and will make it all but impossible to approve future energy projects..
“Hold a referendum on removing equalization from the Constitution Act on October 18, 2021 if substantial progress is not made on construction of a coastal pipeline, and if Trudeau’s Bill C-69 is not repealed” reads the party platform.
Opponents of the legislation have called it an anti-pipeline bill and that it is meant to target the province of Alberta specifically.
As a wealthy province, Alberta has been particularly affected by the equalization system which seeks to transfer wealth from the federal government throughout Canada to address fiscal disparity.
In the 2018-2019 period, Alberta received no equalization payments, while Quebec received nearly $11.7 billion from the federal government.
