CHARBONNEAU – Pipeline follies: political theatre picks up under Carney

POLITICAL THEATRE in Canada is picking up under PM Carney.

The plot The prime minister of Canada wins over a defensive Alberta premier with a Memorandum of Understanding but at what cost?  Without the feds to bash, who will the Alberta premier target? Will radical members of the Alberta premier’s party still want to leave Canada?

The action A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed, with great fanfare, between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Later, Smith met with party delegates at an AGM in Edmonton.

The follies. The actors have their song and dance numbers rehearsed with amusing lines. Canada’s energy minister Tim Hodgson explained in parliament that the pipeline deal is not a “baked cake.” “We’re just buying the ingredients right now. Let’s not opine on how the cake tastes till it’s a little bit further baked.”

The folly. Carney has offered Alberta just what Smith wanted: a pipeline that will never be built in exchange for a carbon capture system that will never work.

The chances of the pipeline being built are close to zero. Analysts at CIBC Capital Markets say they don’t expect the private sector to take the lead on building the pipeline as long as the British Columbia government and First Nations are opposed.

The dream of carbon capture remains a fantasy. Sure, it would be great if we could just keep on driving and pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.  Carbon capture promises to suck all that CO2 out and store it underground. The scale and expense of such an operation makes it nearly impossible.

Audience reaction.  Carney’s address to a Calgary business audience hit the right notes as he received a standing ovation.

Smith avoided talking about the MOU in her address to United Conservative Party faithful at their annual convention until someone in the crowd asked for clarification.

The chorus. Smith was greeted with a chorus of boos when she asked party supporters if they feel more confident in Canada than they did a couple of days ago.

The political earthquake.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault resigned from Cabinet in protest of the deal, calling the MOU unacceptable because “Indigenous nations were not consulted,” and warned the pipeline would have “major environmental impacts.”

Liberals are loosing credibility as stewards of the environment as the shine comes off the new PM.

A gorge opens up among Canadian Conservatives as Pierre Poilievre says the MOU amounts to “another pipe-dream.”

B.C.  Premier David Eby is miffed at being left out of talks about a pipeline that runs through his province. He says that the pipeline proposal is effectively “fictional,” and that the plan currently has “no route, no proponent, no private funding.”

The reviews. After the announcement of the MOU, reviews were mixed according to polling from the Angus Reid Institute.

Despite grumblings in his own ranks, Carney’s approval is relatively high at 52 per cent nationally; highest among Liberal and NDP supporters (85 and 54 per cent respectfully.)

His party, not so good. Liberal support in Vancouver dropped by 15 per cent.  Nationally, Liberal support dropped everywhere except Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

Carney’s road show proves popular. Canadian political theatre can match the circus of south of the border.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.