Premier Moe attacks Trudeau Liberals for 'outright attack' on Sask. energy sector

Premier Scott Moe attacked Trudeau's goal of placing a federal cap on greenhouse gas emissions on Saturday as his leadership was reaffirmed at a Saskatchewan Party convention.

The premier described Justin Trudeau’s decision to cap emissions as “an outright attack on the energy industry in Saskatchewan.”

“We don’t know what the impact will be on the Saskatchewan energy industry yet,” Moe said, but he encouraged the feds to push carbon capture technology to cut down on emissions.

“We understand there’s a transition, but there’s also going to be usage of (oil) products today, and in purchasing those products we ask the world and the prime minister to advocate for Saskatchewan products, which today are some of the most sustainable.”

Moe said he worries Trudeau’s announcement will reduce investment in the province’s energy sector.

“ Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia: they’re all going to fill that void with a much more un-environmentally friendly product than we could be providing here in Canada,” Moe said.

“We should be opening up the opportunity to make Canadian energy available to the world by displacing energy produced in these other countries that have much higher greenhouse gas emissions than we have in Saskatchewan.”

Moe’s speech at the Saturday vote focused heavily on Saskatchewan’s resources, including recent investments made in the province’s canola, potash and tech sectors.

“We listen and try to ensure we’re following the guidance of the province,” Moe said. “We take the guidance and conversations very seriously, especially during a time where we’re faced with a global pandemic, in a very challenging year.”

NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili attacked Moe, culling him and the party culpable for the province’s management of the pandemic.

“That tells you the problem isn’t just Scott Moe, it’s the Sask Party,” Meili said. “It’s the cabinet that has said nothing, it’s all of those MLAs who said nothing, who stood silently by and watched as Scott Moe led us into the worst fourth wave in the country.”