Environment Minister Shannon Phillips tells MyMcMurray she isn’t sure what the Wild Rose Party is talking about, responding to allegations from Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Tany Yao that the NDP government did not take an oilsands visit by U.S Senators seriously.
Phillips said she was asked to attend on behalf of Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd who had a previous engagement already planned for Wednesday.
“When I received the confirmation and the itinerary I confirmed my attendance,” Phillips said, explaining that the tour had been an open invitation extended by the previous government but said the NDP had always planned to have a representative attend.
Yao said the Wildrose party was informed Wednesday by multiple sources both inside and outside Alberta that a top level delegation of two U.S. senators and a congressman were going to tour the oilsands.
“We were shocked and disappointed to discover the NDP government had failed to have any of their ministers or MLAs attend the tour, choosing instead to hand the delegation off on department level officials,” said Yao.
The delegation included Republican Senator and presidential candidate Lindsay Graham, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressman Tom Rice.
According to Yao, the NDP only confirmed that Energy Minister Shannon Phillips would meet with the visitors after offering to host them himself, something Phillips denied.
“These individuals are top level decision makers in Washington and a visit by them is a big deal,” said Yao. “That can be seen by the fact that yesterday, they spent the day with Premier Brad Wall being shown Saskatchewan’s energy innovations, whose government took their visit seriously.”
Phillips said the tour was productive and offered the opportunity to not only discuss market access for Alberta’s products but also to discuss climate control efforts.
“Senator Whitehouse has been a bit of a critic of Canada, and Alberta’s, climate change policies in particular,” she said, adding that it was entirely appropriate she attend the tour because she was able to answer questions from the Senator about her government’s climate review panel.
Phillips also said the tour was well-hosted by Suncor and that, as is common with first visits to the oilsands, the delegates remarked on the impressiveness of the resource.
