Premier-Designate Jason Kenney met with Premier Rachel Notley yesterday for the first time following Tuesday's Provincial Election.

The meeting was mainly to discuss the transition of power from NDP to UCP.

This came shortly after an announcement from Ottawa that the decision regarding the Trans Mountain Pipeline will be delayed until June 18th.

Kenney said he agrees with the federal government's decision to extend the deadline.

"I agreed with the Prime Minister that they need to make sure that they cross every T and dot every I when it comes to discharging the federal government's duty to consult. We certainly don't want them having to back to the drawing board a third time; and we will continue, on our part, to build an alliance across the country that supports TMX and other pipelines. We will continue to communicate the urgency of this to all Canadians."

Regarding his talk with Premier Notley, Kenney said he hopes to see less divisive political discourse moving forward.

"I hope, as I said on Tuesday, that we can demonstrate a greater culture of civility and mutual respect in our politics. There will always be strong disagreements on policy issues, but we can express those, I think, without being disagreeable too often."

Notley said the delay from Ottawa is an indicator of what Jason Kenney is up against, suggesting Kenney's promise to put pressure on the Federal Liberal government may not be so easy, especially with Kenney's plan scrap the emissions cap and carbon tax.

"It's been about 36 hours since Mr. Kenney's been elected. We've seen Quebec double down on their opposition to Energy East, we've seen B.C. double down on their support for Bill C-48 and now we have a delay with the pipeline, for other reasons of course, but I think what it does demonstrate is that it's not as simple as having press conferences and expressing people's outrage over and over. This is a complicated country, it involves considered diplomacy and strategic pressure in a thoughtful way."

She added that she intends to watch closely as Leader of the Opposition.

"We need to give the new Premier and his government time to put their plan into action, but I must say that I will be watching very closely, because it's very important to me and to all Albertans that we maintain support among Canadians for the pipeline, and that we do not allow that to go backwards."

Kenney and the UCP cabinet are to be sworn in on April 30th.

 

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email us at news@okotoksonline.com