Alberta's Premier says people have a right to be frustrated in the province.

Jason Kenney reacted to the Federal Election results in the legislature on Tuesday afternoon and fielded questions from reporters afterwards on topics including the Federal Carbon Tax, the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project, and even the separatist sentiments expressed by many Albertans in the wake of the election.

Kenney says he believes deep down that most Albertans have an emotional attachment to Canada.

"I really believe that at heart, most Albertans are patriots. We've had a higher number of young Albertans enroll in the military in times of crisis and we are proud of what we've done together as Canadians. Secondly," Kenney continued, "I would say, that we should not let Justin Trudeau and his policies make us feel unwelcome in our own country. Thirdly, I would say, we have allies across Canada. We have provincial governments who have got our back on a number of these issues including a fair deal for our resource sector and our oil and gas workers. So we're not isolated, we're not alone. People shouldn't draw that conclusion from last night."

Kenney says nine of 10 provincial governments say they are for oil and gas pipeline corridors across the country and that they are against Bill C-69.

"My view is this: landlocking ourselves through separation is not a solution to the problem of a campaign to landlock Alberta. The green left has been leading the campaign to landlock our energy. Why would we give them what they want by landlocking Alberta within North America as a jurisdiction that has no argument for access to our coasts, or for that matter a jurisdiction that would fall out of NAFTA. And we're not going to get one inch closer to a pipeline by closing in on ourselves as a landlocked jurisdiction," Kenney says.

"I think the solution to frustration that's expressing itself in separatist sentiment is positive ideas about reforming the federation for a fair deal for Alberta," says Kenney. "That's what we're focused on doing, that's what we have been doing."

"We don't object to sharing some of our wealth," says Kenney. "What we object to is Ottawa and some provincial governments expecting us to pay those bills without allowing us to develop the wealth to do so. All we're trying to do is connect the two. You want us to pay the freight and the federation? Fine, then help us to pay the bills by selling our oil in global markets."

Kenney says there's always been some concern in Alberta that the Federal Government is not completely committed to the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. He suspects that concern will continue following Monday's election.

"One can imagine a scenario in a minority parliament where parties that hold the balance of power might try to negotiate their support for confidence measures, such as a budget, contingent upon federal withdrawl from TMX. What I'm saying is that would be totally unacceptable and if the Prime Minister means what he said last night about listening to Alberta and Saskatchewan, the clearest way he could do so would be to unequivocally commit this new government to the completion of the pipeline that the Federal Government owns," Kenney says.

"The bottom line is this: With a lot of issues on the plate here, and a lot of anger and frustration in Alberta, I want people to keep their eye on the prize, focused on our most important economic imperative, which is the completion of that pipeline," states Kenney.

As for the Federal Carbon Tax, Kenney says he will continue to dispute it through judicial reference to the Alberta Court of Appeal and also by supporting the appeals of the Governments of Saskatchewan and Ontario to the Supreme Court of Canada.

"Quite frankly I know that Justin Trudeau's not going to back up on his policy on that," says Kenney. "Our first effort was to get a democratic decision from Canadians, that didn't happen on the Carbon Tax yesterday. Our backup plan, our Plan B is to go and assert our provincial rights through the courts, that's what we will be doing."

Kenney says despite the Conservatives not winning the election, Albertans spoke with a louder voice than they have ever done in federal electoral history. He also says he will continue to try to work with Trudeau.

"When we first spoke, the day after Alberta's April election, I indicated to the Prime Minister then and three days later at our in person meeting at his Ottawa office, that I want to find a way to work together. It's no secret that I have been opposed to most of his policies because I think they hurt Alberta, but at the same time, I'm a democrat and I respect any elected government and I will seek to work with any elected government," says Kenney.

 

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