8 March 2007
Edmonton, AlbertaPremier and Members of the Government of Alberta,
Colleagues from the Government of Canada,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for that welcome, and thank you, Rona, for your kind introduction.
It’s always a pleasure to be back home in Alberta.
I’m especially pleased to share the podium with the new premier.
It’s clear from yesterday's Throne Speech, Premier, that you intend to continue the tradition of strong, bold political leadership that has served our province so well for over a century.
Alberta has long been at the centre of the Canadian petroleum industry.
And because of that, Albertans, like all Canadians, are concerned about their environment.
They appreciate what the energy sector does for the provincial economy and their standard of living.
Many came here because of it, and many livelihoods depend on it.
Yet Albertans also cherish the province’s beautiful, varied and unspoiled natural environment.
For instance, the ranchers of the southern prairies provide careful stewardship for that unique ecosystem; the hikers and skiers treat the vast mountain parks as if they were their own back yard – which, in a way, they are; Northerners demand that conservation of their lakes, rivers and forests come before resource exploitation; and urbanites insist that developers set aside plenty of room for parkland, like your magnificent “ribbon of green” along the North Saskatchewan right here in Edmonton.
All Canadians are looking for a balance between economic growth and environmental protection.
Finding that balance is the fundamental challenge of our time.
And it has been a guiding principle for the environmental policies of Canada’s New Government ever since we took office just over one year ago.
It inspired our chemicals management plan, which is making Canada a world leader in the regulation of the potentially toxic substances we encounter every day in our homes and workplaces.
It inspired our ecoENERGY program, which provides incentives to improve energy efficiency and develop alternative, sustainable sources.
It inspired our Clean Air Act, which will lay out, for the first time ever, a national plan for the regulation and control of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in Canada.
And it inspired the two important initiatives I’m here to announce today.
Our first announcement is the creation of a joint task force of the governments of Canada and Alberta that will investigate an exciting new technology called carbon capture and storage.
Instead of pumping tons of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere, we may be able to collect it from our oil sands operations, our coal-fired electrical plants, and other industrial emitters, and pump it deep underground where it will remain for eternity.
In the process, we could re-pressurize depleted oil formations, and thereby squeeze the remaining black gold out of the western sedimentary basin.
And most exciting of all, if we can perfect this technology, we can use it not only to curb Canada’s contribution to global greenhouse gas production,
But we could also export it around the world.
It is only fitting that Alberta is taking the lead in this potentially historic initiative.
As our late, great Premier Ernest Manning once said, Albertans are “people who dream of changing the world from their tractor seats.”
And this is a dream that could truly change the world.
The ecoENERGY Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force will be chaired by Steve Snyder, President and CEO of TransAlta Corporation, the Calgary-based international power generator and marketer.
The Task Force will assess the economic, technical and regulatory hurdles that lie on the road to large-scale implementation of carbon capture and storage.
They will report their findings and recommendations by November. I’m sure people all over the world will be very interested to hear what they have to say.
Our second announcement today relates to the Canada ecoTrust fund.
It is a $1.5 billion pool of capital that is being distributed equitably among all the provinces and territories to assist with their clean air and climate change initiatives.
Alberta’s share of our ecoTrust fund will be used to support projects like:
the conversion of municipal waste into electricity in Edmonton;
a hydrocarbon upgrading demonstration program;
the design for coal-fired electricity generation facilities with near-zero emissions; and, of course,
proposals coming out of our Joint Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage.
The ecoTrust funding I’m announcing today will be delivered in Budget 2007, which will be tabled March 19. This new funding will be available as soon as Parliament approves the Budget.
Friends, the era of empty rhetoric on the environment is over.
We’re taking real action that will produce real, tangible results.
Our government is committed to a cleaner, healthier environment for all Canadians,
And to a sustainable economy that will provide optimal balance between quality of life and standard of living for future generations.
Our government is determined to achieve this goal.
So is the Alberta government under Premier Stelmach.
And together, that's exactly what we're going to deliver.
Thank you.
