BC’s climate plan and TILMA

Craig MacInnis in his Vancouver Sun column compares Alberta’s intransigence on oil and gas with BC’s new green laurels. What he misses is TILMA. Having signed this deal (there is still time to pull out) that will definitely impact Alberta’s oil and gas sector, BC is giving them a club to bash the provincial government over the head.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is following an old tradition by warning Canadians to keep their grubby mitts off Alberta’s oil wealth. But he has taken that theme to new heights with his stance on global warming.

On the same day B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was demonstrating his newfound belief in the need for a holy war against climate change, Stelmach was laying out his credentials as a belligerent agnostic.

In a speech to the Calgary Rotary Club, he warned the federal government — led, interestingly enough, by a former Calgarian, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who not too long ago urged Albertans to adopt a similar circle-the-wagons approach to the rest of Canada on another issue — that he is ready to fight off any environmental initiatives that threaten the source of Alberta’s wealth.

These kind of comments make me really question how BC thinks it is going to get away with a meaningful climate change plan without some form of retribution from Alberta (government or corporations). While there are some defences in the agreement, they are very limited, and it will be trade panels that are the arbiters.