MLA report March 15

Hello Chestermere! It has been an amazing week. The legislature is back in session and with a new throne speech under our belt, we begin a new session smack full of all sorts of interesting legislation that I’m sure you are just itching to find out about. I would first like to speak about the throne speech. I have one word…Wow! If you have been following my articles at all, if you followed any of the leadership candidates, and then more recently, Jason Kenney’s speech after he won his by-election in Calgary Lougheed, if you close your eyes and imagine the UCP in government, you would have thought the opening section about getting tough on pipelines was us talking. I am completely dumbfounded by the government and their language, and the parroting of Jason Kenney and his tough tactics when it comes to fighting for this necessary infrastructure. As Jason Kenney said, copying is the sincerest form of flattery, but it may be too little too late. Under section 92 A of the 1982 Constitution Act the Provincial Government could turn off the taps to the lower mainland in BC. The province has the ability to regulate natural resources produced within its boundaries. The energy industry for obvious reasons is concerned because they would lose profits and Alberta would lose revenues as well, but we can not sit idly by and allow other provinces to dictate the sale, discount and volume of the resources that we as owners of our resources have the right to do. This would not be necessary except for one problem: the Federal government has been wishy-washy on pipelines and have shown no ability to show strength in standing up to B.C, or the east for that matter. Remember that Energy East died due to over regulation and delays initiated by the Trudeau Liberals.
We have governments willing to pander to activists who use fossil fuel everyday the same as you and I. For its part, the Federal Government has the power under Section 92 10(c) of the Constitution Act to declare the Trans Mountain project to be in the national interest, which it clearly is. This would stop delaying tactics by the BC Government. The pipeline is not just for Alberta, it is for Canada. The prosperity of our country lies in the hands of few activists and a weak federal government afraid of losing a few seats in the Vancouver area? A sad state of affairs.
Speaking of bad government, Enmax finally reached an agreement with the government around the Power Purchase Agreements. It has been something like a soap opera watching the Government deal with this situation, and one they get to take full responsibility for. The Government would have you believe that the PPAs that allowed companies to purchase their energy from the generators and sell in an open and deregulated manner were bad for you. Remember, you were paying rock bottom prices for electricity. The truth is that the PPAs were already losing money because of the low electricity prices, and then the government decided to put in a carbon tax. The companies became more unprofitable and returned their PPAs to the balancing pool as they had the legal right to do because of the Government’s actions.
Then the NDP Government decided in its wisdom to sue the companies they had just attacked to the tune of 2.6 billion dollars in losses that you are now responsible to pay back because they did not read these agreements properly. Furthermore, they can bring on any type of renewable at the Ministers discretion without any debate over the what renewables come on line, the infrastructure costs, the cost to the rate payer, or understanding of subsidies that will be provided to bring “green” energy into the grid. The NDP Government created a mess that is going to cost all of us more money. We will have utility debt where we have had none, and it was the NDP Government’s action alone that triggered this mess of losses in the neighborhood of 70 million per month! 70 million dollars a month is a lot of schools! All because of ego, arrogance and ignorance in keeping money losing PPAs in the balancing pool due to the legal action that the NDP initiated. And guess who is going to pay for it? You bet…you and I.
I am seeking the nomination to represent the UCP in the new riding of Chestermere – Strathmore set to take effect when the next Provincial Election is called. We will be campaigning in your areas, and I can’t wait to meet you at the doors. I am truly blessed to be able to meet with so many of you and I look forward to more conversations. We are looking for volunteers to help out with many aspects of the campaign and if you are interested in getting involved and want to help us win the next election, this is your chance to get in and become part of the change. Email voteleela@gmail.com or call 587-429-6465. As always we love to hear from you!