Saskatchewan’s Premier says we should be proud and not ashamed of our rich wealth in energy resources.
He made the comments at the close of the Premiers conference where a new deal for a Canadian Energy Strategy was signed.
The deal has been four years in the making and there was a lot of debate and give and take before the premiers reached their agreement in St. Johns Newfoundland. The deal balances the need for energy development with protecting the environment.
Premier Brad Wall went into the meeting with some major concerns suggesting provinces like Ontario and Quebec looked down at the oil producing provinces even though they benefited greatly from equalization payments.
Wall repeated his position that Canada should be pushing for oil self-sufficiency.
“You have heard me say over and over again, our country, notwithstanding the vast oil reserves we have in places like Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador and other places, we still import oil from other countries and that just seems wrong to me.” He says.
The host premier Paul Davis of Newfoundland and Labrador shared Wall’s view. He says oil has made a huge difference for his province.
“The energy has completed changed us as a province.” He says, “ It’s a changed opportunity for us as a people and as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians it’s providing for us in many ways. For me the document is monumental and visionary.”
The premiers also supported Brad Wall’s call for a national strategy to deal with forest fires.
The strategy would include a ready supply of firefighting equipment, firefighting training for military personnel and an update to interprovincial forest fire sharing strategies.
This has been one on the worst years on record for forest fires in the three western provinces.
Another issue of agreement was the need to reduce the number of Aboriginal children under the care of child welfare agencies across Canada.