(PHOTO: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Rachel Notley making hygiene kits for vulnerable women at his last stop in Alberta at the YWCA Calgary on Feb. 4, 2016. Reporter Ian Campbell, 660 News)
By Craig Lester, 660 News Calgary, and the Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up his stop here in Alberta with a tour of the YWCA in Calgary, where he later reiterated the need for balance between the economy and environment. The tour followed a meeting between Trudeau, Premier Rachel Notley and seven oil and gas leaders Thursday morning.
“What we need to do is restore a framework in which Canadians will have trust in their regulators, in their governments, to both create economic growth that benefits all Canadians, but also protect the environment for future generations of the world,” said Trudeau in a news conference.
The prime minister says getting that balance right is at the heart of what he is looking at doing and is very much in line with what he heard from the industry leaders Thursday morning.
Trudeau said he doesn’t want to prejudge or shortcut the National Energy Board’s deliberations on the Energy East project, and argued the previous federal government spent 10 years advocating for pipelines and didn’t get anywhere.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi was in Ottawa where he made a pitch for the project. Nenshi said he would of like to hear more certainty from the prime minister, that he would respect the regulator’s findings. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called out the prime minister to advocate for the project rather than playing peacemaker between those for and against the pipeline.
Trudeau also continued to signal that changes are coming to make employment insurance easier to get for laid-off Albertans.
“We’re examining ways in which we can strengthen E.I.,” he added “This was a commitment we made through the election campaign, to strengthen it and make it more responsive to people who actually need it. Because for many years it wasn’t there for Canadians that needed it and now Alberta is facing some real challenges in needing it, and we’re going to make sure it’s there for them,” says Trudeau.
He says industry leaders told him during his visit that their main concern is employing as many people as possible through the downturn.
