Premier Clark derails plan for national energy strategy

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HALIFAX (NEWS1130) – Premier Christy Clark is refusing to sign onto a national energy strategy before resolving a dispute with Alberta over the Northern Gateway pipeline.

Clark stepped out of meetings at the Council of the Federation in Halifax to make the announcement, as premiers worked to cobble together a pan-Canadian strategy on energy.

Clark says she can’t endorse a deal before discussions take place with Ottawa and Alberta over how BC would be compensated for allowing the multi-billion dollar pipeline to transit through the province.

She says BC is bearing too much risk from potential oil spills at sea or on land, while receiving only eight per cent in tax benefits.

“I am committed to working co-operatively with my fellow premiers on issues of national importance, and I am hopeful that as work continues on process to support a national energy strategy, there will be consideration of British Columbia’s five principles with respect to heavy oil pipelines,” says the premier in a statement.

Clark has said she decided to ask for an unspecified share of royalties and revenues after doing analysis on the pipeline, which will move bitumen from Alberta to the BC coast for shipment to Asia.

It doesn’t matter whether this was the right move: political analyst

A political analyst says even if this was the right decision by Clark, everything she does these days has a negative hue.

Sean Holman wonders if Clark’s actions today are the best thing for the province, or even for her. “What’s she trying to demonstrate here? That she can storm out of a meeting? That she doesn’t like debating things?”

The decision to not negotiate with other premiers could have been a good thing, with her standing up for the interests of the province. But Holman doesn’t think it will be interpreted that way.

“To a certain extent, I suppose I feel for her,” he admits. “Her presentation of these kinds of decisions ends up obscuring whether or not it is a good decision or a bad decision.”

He points out her party has been on a downward trend for some time. “Everything that Christy Clark does is interpreted through a negative lens.”

Has she made an enemy in Alberta Premier Alison Redford, who is championing the national energy strategy?

“If she has made an enemy… it probably won’t last for that long because it’s likely that Christy Clark won’t be in office come 2013,” says Holman.

He tells us issues with Clark started from from the get-go. “She didn’t do a good job of the honeymoon period of her administration. She kind of squandered that.”

“So, now she’s in a situation where she has to make the big decisions. Even if she was making the right decisions, they would be criticized,” claims Holman.

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