Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet un-Canadian and ungrateful for celebrating the decline of the Alberta energy sector.  

At a press conference on Thursday, Kenney told reporters that the recent remarks made by the May and Blanchet were inappropriate and divisive.

“We Albertans have been generous and we will continue to be generous but… these attacks on our natural resource industries are unwarranted, they are divisive [and] they are, I believe — in a way — un-Canadian at a time like this. It’s like blaming the victim,” Kenney said.

“I just think it’s deeply regrettable that we would see national political leaders piling on Albertans and energy workers at a time of great trial for us.” 

“This is the opposite of leadership.”

Last week May and Blanchet both went on tirades against the energy sector and Alberta in general.

May, citing the recent decline in oil prices, argued that “oil is dead” and nothing should be done to help the sector during the economic crisis.

May says the only thing the federal government should do is fund a plan to create “green” jobs.

Blanchet called Alberta’s economy “condemned,” claiming that there is no way the energy sector will ever recover.

“Putting any more money in that business is a very bad idea,” Blanchet said.

In response to Blanchet, Kenney said the Albertan energy sector fuels the national economy. Kenney also noted that Alberta provides the equalization payments that Quebec is dependent on.

“The Canadian energy industry has done more than any in modern Canadian history to create jobs and prosperity, to fund social programs and government services and to unite Canadians with our equalization payments and transfers across the country, to which Alberta has contributed over $600 billion in recent decades, thanks largely to our energy resources,” Kenney said.

“They enjoy the benefits of living in a modern industrial economy which is predicated on access to affordable energy, much of which — half of which for Quebec — comes from Alberta.”

Blanchet has a history of attacking Alberta for having an energy sector. 

After the 2019 federal election, Blanchet said that Quebec should not work with Alberta on matters of autonomy or provincial rights while the province produces oil.

Eight million N95 respirators manufactured in China were found to be faulty and not on par with federal standards. 

According to the office of Procurement Minister Anita Anand, out of 11 million masks, only one million were usable, while nearly two million are still being tested. 

The federal government is still in contact with the distributor with regards to refunds or a discount for the unusable gear. 

However, Prime Minister Trudeau would not specify how much Canada paid for the faulty masks.

N95 masks are highly sought after in the fight against the coronavirus due to their ability to block out a majority of particles, including viruses. 

“We are working with a range of suppliers and distributors, and we have strong processes in place to help ensure that the supplies we receive meet all necessary standards,” a spokesperson for Anand’s office told CP24.

This is not the first time that medical products arriving from China were found to be of poor quality. 

Critics have accused the Liberal government of mismanaging Canada’s emergency stockpile. 

In February it was revealed that Global Affairs Canada sent 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

When testifying before the Commons health committee Deputy Public Works Minister Bill Matthews told committee members that 100,000 of the coronavirus test swabs sent to Canada by China were contaminated with mould. 

Since then, the Liberal government has been scrambling to acquire PPE from global markets due to national shortages. 

A leading public health official also told the House of Commons health committee that sending the equipment to China was “probably not” the best decision. 

“I would say the national emergency stockpile is probably the largest failure as far as our response goes to date,” said Ian Culbert, Executive Director of the Public Health Association.

“In hindsight, was it the best decision? Probably not. But I think it was made in good will with the best information available at the time.”

A Liberal minister avoided referencing the country Taiwan directly when pressed to thank the country for its medical supplies donation. 

In the past, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne openly thanked China for its donations on his official Twitter account. 

When asked by Conservative MP Ed Fast to recognize Taiwan’s donation, Champagne thanked “every nation” that has donated, without reference to the nation’s name. 

“Canada is grateful to all who have given supplies to Canada. This is a common endeavour,” he said.

“We are thankful, we are grateful to every nation. We will continue to do so. Like I said, when it comes to global health, when it comes to helping each other, I think it is the duty of all to come together.”

After Fast repeated the question, Champagne reiterated the general statement without naming Taiwan directly. 

In contrast, after China sent a donation of personal protective equipment in March, Champagne published the following tweet linking directly to the Chinese embassy’s announcement. 

According to China, it does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation and maintains that the territory belongs to China. 

Champagne is not the first Canadian official to avoid upsetting China by speaking about Taiwan. 

During an interview with a Hong Kong-based journalist, Canadian WHO epidemiologist Bruce Aylward could be seen dodging questions about Taiwan’s membership in the UN organization. 

Instead of answering the question, Aylward claimed to not have heard it the first time, and when asked again said “no, that’s OK, let’s move to another one then,” before apparently closing the video call to avoid the question.

Recently, a Chinese propaganda rag came to Aylward’s defence after he repeatedly ignored calls to testify before a Commons health committee. 

An “expert” quoted by the outlet spoke highly of Aylward as a “renowned epidemiologist” who “praised China” for its coronavirus handling. 

“They are pointing a finger at a renowned epidemiologist who led a group of WHO experts to China for a joint mission on COVID-19 in February because Aylward revealed some facts those politicians long balked at,” said the director of Fudan University’s Research Center for Cyberspace Governance Shen Yi.

“Aylward praised China’s coronavirus prevention work, saying potential patients were well-organized and tested quickly at a press conference in Beijing in February.”