Alberta Party Caucus calls for jobs, not loans, for Albertans

December 18, 2018 (Calgary) – MLA Greg Clark, the Alberta Party Caucus Energy Critic, said today the federal government’s announcement does nothing for the oil and gas industry and does nothing to save or create jobs in Alberta. 

“It's like everything from Ottawa: it's not what we need, it's not what we want and it's not what we asked for," said Clark. “Alberta has lost more than 100,000 jobs since 2015. The federal government’s answer is business development and export development loans and training that might help create jobs in the next five to ten years.

“None of that helps us today. Albertans need jobs and concrete solutions that lead to jobs today – not five to ten years down the road. The federal government is responsible for the current mess we’re facing on pipelines, and the NDP clearly isn’t getting results.

“Work sharing and income supports are band-aid solutions on a mortal wound. The best way to get out of work Albertans back on the job is getting a pipeline built. The best way to prevent further job losses is to get a pipeline built. The federal government’s approach smacks of defeatism, and doesn’t do anything to improve takeaway capacity.

“Today’s announcement doesn’t get us any closer to new markets. It doesn’t get us any closer to any new jobs to replace the ones that have been lost to date. And as the federal government has clearly told us today, there is nothing coming from this government to support oil and gas – it’s all about transitioning to a greener economy in the next ten-plus years. They keep telling us they’re working on it – but we don’t need activity. We need results, and clearly there aren’t going to be any results forthcoming from the federal or NDP governments.

“The Alberta Party Caucus is the only party that can get Alberta's energy sector back up and running and Albertans back to work, so we can restore investor confidence, diversify the economy and lead the world in environmental and social sustainability as we get pipelines built.”