Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defends COVID-19 pardons and oil actions

While Premier Danielle Smith had her sights set on Ottawa during Thursday’s press conference – she was repeatedly asked about her reported conversations and emails with Crown prosecutors and the province’s justice minister over COVID-19 pardons.

“Well, let me be clear. The CBC story was untrue, and I’ve asked for an apology and I still haven’t gotten it – and I’ve asked for a retraction,” Smith said. “They gave the impression that me or my staff was calling around to crown prosecutors, and that was not true – the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service confirmed there was no political interference.”

Meanwhile, the CBC has said that it has not seen the emails in question but stands by its reporting.

The Opposition NDP said, in response, questions stemming from the CBC story, coupled with multiple conflicting statements from Smith on what she has said to Justice Department officials about the Coutts cases, can only be resolved through an independent investigation.

The Justice Department said it had done a four-month search of ingoing, outgoing, and deleted emails and found no evidence of contact.

Smith campaigned on pardoning COVID public health order violators – explaining to media Thursday the justice ministry informed her that’s not possible.

“Number one, amnesty is not available to a premier, it’s only a power that the governor general has, and number two, we lost a case CM vs Alberta, because it was found that the Chief medical officer of health went through a flawed process to implement a health order,” she explained.

Smith also asked about a new pilot project that would give royalty breaks to oil companies for cleaning up abandoned wells – even as Canadian bank Scotiabank warns moving ahead with the plan would severely damage the reputation of the industry in the province.

Analysts with the bank said in a report that it “has the potential to generate negative public sentiment” toward the oil and gas sector, and “goes against the core capitalist principle that private companies should take full responsibility for the liabilities they willingly accept.”

READ MORE:

• Was it a snub? Or a missed connection? Danielle Smith explains handshake mix-up with Trudeau

• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to provide update after meeting in Ottawa

• Alberta to pilot oil and gas royalty breaks for legally required well cleanup

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Meanwhile, Alberta’s opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley criticized the plan Thursday – saying oil companies should clean up themselves.

“Because we have a principle of pollute or pay, we do not give people bonuses for cleaning up after themselves. And this program is designed to give bonuses to otherwise profitable companies that are simply choosing not to follow through on their obligations,” said Notley.

In a statement, Brad Herald, vice president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), told CityNews the industry, as well as the federal and provincial governments, play a role in cleaning up oil well sites.

“We look forward to the consultation process with the Alberta Government on their proposed Liability Management Incentive Program, and will work to ensure the momentum built in the reclamation of legacy sites in Alberta continues,” said Herald.

Smith also offered up clarification during her media address Thursday on her handshake with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that appeared to be a “snub,” saying she had already exchanged a formal greeting with Trudeau away from the cameras prior to their first meeting on Tuesday.

She admits she was merely surprised by round two and that her pulling back was not a snub.

With files from Courtney Theriault and The Canadian Press