BC won’t boycott Alberta beef amidst trade spat with our neighbours: Horgan

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VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The back and forth between the provincial governments in BC and Alberta, respectively, continues.

Today, we heard from Premier John Horgan, who spoke in Victoria, one day after Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced a halt on all BC wine being imported into her province.

Horgan feels this is not a trade war and he’s not threatening any retaliatory actions against our neighbours and that includes a ban on Alberta beef. He maintains his focus right now is on this month’s budget.

“I will not be distracted from that objective while the government of Alberta chooses to take retaliatory trade actions against our province because we’ve chosen to talk to British Columbians about we can protect BC’s interests. I have had discussions with the prime minister. I have had discussions with the premier of Alberta and have made it clear to both of them that the interests of British Columbia are my responsibility. I take that very seriously and I will be resolute in protecting the interests of this great province.”

The dispute started after BC announced further shipments of bitumen from Alberta would be limited and that’s considered a direct threat to the expansion of the Kinder Morgan’s pipeline which ends in Burnaby.

“We are currently in court with respect to the Kinder Morgan process and until we get a resolution from the federal court, that is an open question. When it comes to our rights, my rights as the premier to consult with British Columbians about putting in place protections for our environment and our economy, I see no ground for Premier [Notley] to stand on.”

Horgan says after Tuesday’s wine ban was announced by Notley, his office got in touch with the BC Wine Institute, among others suppliers. “Lana Popham, the minister of agriculture, is reaching out to growers across the Okanagan. We stand with our wine industry. It is a quality product and I know anecdotally, other provinces are emptying their shelves of BC wine so there will be more to export to Ontario, Quebec and other jurisdictions.”

The BC premier continues to insist his previous comments were never meant to be provocative and he told reporters he and Notley have a good, working relationship.

“Certainly, I would hope we have seen the end of the back and forth. I deliberately wasn’t available to [the media Tuesday] because I don’t believe it’s in anyone’s interest to have duelling premiers. It’s well known, Premier Notley and I have been friends in the past, it’s well know we share the same political flag and that may be interesting to political observers but at the end of the day that’s secondary to my obligations to the people of British Columbian. And that’s my only focus in the days, weeks and months ahead. What Alberta does is entirely up to them. We’re going to focus on the issues that matter to British Columbians and hope that cooler heads on the other side of the Rockies will prevail.”

Horgan says he has no plans, at this point, to meet with Kinder Morgan President Ian Anderson until the courts return with a decision about the project.

He also says he doesn’t have any current plans to go to Alberta to talk to Notley face-to-face.

Notley defends blocking BC wine

“We have no choice.”

Those are some of the words from a new video posted by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on Twitter after Tuesday’s announcement that BC wine would be blocked from coming into the province.

The premier said she understands this will impact some small businesses, but until BC stops its tactics outside provincial jurisdiction, it’s a necessary measure. “No one wants a trade fight between two provinces. Not Alberta, not BC and not Canada. Our country can’t work like this but if it takes this kind of action to get Ottawa to act, then I’m afraid we have no choice.”

She adds this decision wasn’t easy but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Alberta has also suspended electricity talks with BC after Victoria announced the ban on increased bitumen shipments to the West Coast.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reaffirmed his support for the project, which was approved a couple of years ago, however, Notley wants him to explicitly state that BC does not have the authority they claim to have regarding what goes into a pipeline. “We’re going to continue to engage with the premiers on a regular basis,” said Trudeau earlier on Wednesday.

Notley is pushing the federal government to take a stronger stance arguing BC’s tactics are unconstitutional and outside provincial jurisdiction. She has also threatened that after wine, Alberta may look to stop BC craft beer from heading east.

Other politicians are speaking up about the dispute.

Conservative MP Lisa Raitt says it’s time for Trudeau to do something. “This should not be about pitting BC businesses against Alberta businesses. This should be something that the prime minister steps into and solves.”

Tory Leader Andrew Scheer says Trudeau should end his US trip early and come back to Canada to deal with this.

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