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NDP's Leap Manifesto bad news for local industry

Local government representatives view the NDP's consideration of the Leap Manifesto as a betrayal to Alberta energy industry and accuse it of aiming to divide Canada.
Local politicians, including Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, warn of the consequences the recent Leap Manifesto could have on local industry.
Local politicians, including Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, warn of the consequences the recent Leap Manifesto could have on local industry.

Local government representatives view the NDP's consideration of the Leap Manifesto as a betrayal to Alberta energy industry and accuse it of aiming to divide Canada.

Federal NDP party leader Tom Mulcair brought the manifesto, which focuses on infrastructure, environment and energy policy proposals, to the table for discussion of adoption at the party's federal convention in Edmonton two weeks ago. The document was originally introduced into federal politics during the last election and endorsed by prominent figures like environmental activist David Suzuki, but stunned Canadian policy makers when proposed by the normally centre-reform party because it leaned so far left.

“They went so far that they're farther left than the Green Party with this manifesto,” said MLA for Bonnyville - Cold Lake Scott Cyr.

The Leap Manifesto calls for an end to fossil fuel development by 2050. Instead Canada would run on renewable energy – that means no new infrastructure in fossil fuels, possibly compromising the lifelines of Alberta's nine coal plants and no hope for pipelines. It also advocates for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, an end to partnerships that interfere with the country's move to renewable energy, and carbon taxing.

“I hope that Albertans know without a shadow of a doubt now how dangerous NDP ideology is to energy development, to our responsible natural resources development,” said Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs. “It really shows their agenda.”

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley rejected the manifesto but also calls for the provincial NDP to split from the federal NDP. The document suggests the party wants to move in a different direction federally than Notley, who says she supports pipelines. The ideology suggests a widening divide between western Canada and eastern Canada where a naïve understanding of the energy industry seems to be in play, according to Stubbs and Cyr.

“Everybody would love to start moving off of the oil and gas base that we derive energy from, but if we look at examples that define Ontario or Germany, the fact is that the direction that we are going in has been proven not to work and instead of using caution and moving slowly in this direction, we're going in at a full run,” said Cyr.

Alberta has the third largest oil sands in the world, contributing to 37 per cent of United States oil production, its largest trader. Oil, gas and mining employed 133,053 Albertans in 2014. To date over $201 billion has been invested in oil sands industry.

“Our standard in life in Bonnyville and Cold Lake, would take a pretty big drop (without fossil fuels),” said Cyr, explaining the region would fall back on its agriculture industry, but this wouldn't be a long term solution.

“A lot of the farmers and ranchers in the area depend on the oil sands revenue to operate their farms. A lot of them work the oil fields during the day and the fields at night.”

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