Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is launching a series of ads against the federal government’s proposed cap on oil and gas emissions, a move she believes will hurt production and “kill jobs.”
Smith said the campaign aims to inform Canadians about the negative impact of the cap and how it would lead Alberta and Canada into “economic and societal decline.”
She added that despite several reports saying the same thing, the federal government is still moving ahead with the plans to impose the cap.
“Once again, Ottawa is attempting to set policies that are shortsighted and reckless. We’re challenging proposed policy that would stifle our energy industry, kill jobs and ruin economies by launching a national campaign that tells Ottawa to ‘Scrap the Cap,'” she said.
“We’re telling the federal government to forget this reckless and extreme idea and get behind Alberta’s leadership by investing in real solutions that cut emissions, not Canada’s prosperity.”
The federal government’s draft regulations are aimed at slowing down climate change.
Under those rules, industries are ordered to cut emissions by 35 to 38 per cent of 2019 levels by 2030.
In May, the premier and her ministers released a report to lobby Ottawa to scrap the cap, saying “Alberta will bear the brunt” of the cuts.
The report suggested production would drop by one million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
On Tuesday, Smith said any sort of production cut would be felt across the country, so wants Canadians to tell Ottawa that they won’t support regulations that would leave them “with a lower standard of living and reduced services.”
The ad campaign, which runs from Oct. 15 to the end of November, urges residents to contact their member of parliament.
The Scrap the Cap website also included an electronic form that can be forwarded to the federal government.