Pipeline politics got personal Tuesday, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith firing a volley at B.C. Premier David Eby.
During a visit to Ottawa, Smith described Eby’s comments to a reporter as “un-Canadian and unconstitutional.”
Smith was in Ottawa pushing her proposal for a new bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s coast and reacting to Eby’s anti-pipeline sentiment, highlighted in a video posted Monday to social media.
“The Supreme Court has determined that the reason we have a country and have given trade and commerce power and control over port, and offer intra-provincial structure to the Federal government, is for exactly this reason - so a parochial premier isn’t able to block nation building projects,” said Smith.
Within hours on Tuesday, Eby fired back.
“It’s not the Danielle Smith show, it’s the Canadian team, and we all deserve the same opportunity for the same federal funding for our projects as she does for hers. That’s not un-Canadian, that’s fair,” he retorted.
Eby’s energy minister, Adrian Dix, had his back.
“The definition of being Canadian isn’t to agree with everything that Danielle Smith says,” remarked Dix.
But John Rustad, the leader of the official opposition, thinks Smith was right.
“Danielle Smith called out David Eby, and I commend her for it,” said Rustad.
“He does need to be called out for blocking the prosperity of Canadians.”
The timeline for an actual pipeline is likely a long way away, however, says Hamish Telford, a political scientist with the University of the Fraser Valley.
“We are so far away from anything happening that it’s premature,” said Telford, referring to the escalating war of words.
“This is like a bench clearing brawl before the puck is dropped.”
Smith, who met with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, said he told her he would have an answer by the Grey Cup, in mid-November, on whether the pipeline gets the green light.
“All it takes is for the prime minister to say yes, and so I’m hopeful that we can get to that by mid-November,” she said.
Eby, again, didn’t hold back.
“If Alberta gets a $50 billion publicly funded pipeline, then I want a $50 billion federal guarantee for projects as well, and i want $50 billion for every province against Canada. and every territory because their projects are just as damn important as Alberta’s project is.”
At this rate, the biggest blows during the Grey Cup might not be on the field.