Sunday, October 31, 2021

New federal minister says it's 'great honour' to represent Alberta at the cabinet table

Ashley Joannou 

© Provided by Edmonton Journal CP-Web. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and Gov. Gen. Mary May Simon, right, pose with Randy Boissonnault, minister of tourism and associate minister of finance, at a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021.

Alberta’s first federal cabinet minister in two years says that he recognizes his responsibility to be a voice for the province in the federal government.

Randy Boissonnault, MP for Edmonton Centre, was named tourism minister and associate minister of finance by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week in Ottawa. He is the only representative of Alberta in cabinet and the first Alberta cabinet minister since 2019 when the Liberals were shut out of the province.

“It’s a great honour for me to represent Alberta at the cabinet table and we wanted Albertans in caucus and cabinet,” he said in an interview with Postmedia the day after the cabinet was announced.

“I take these dual responsibilities very seriously and I’m looking very much forward to making sure that the concerns and priorities of our province are voiced.”

Boissonnault’s appointment comes following an October referendum in Alberta where 61.7 per cent of Albertans who voted said they wanted to remove the principle of equalization from the constitution.

While Alberta doesn’t have the power to do that, Premier Jason Kenney has argued that a yes vote could be used as leverage to negotiate a “fair deal” with Ottawa.

“This is a powerful statement today — a democratic statement — where Albertans are demanding to be respected,” Kenney said following the release of the referendum results.

“We fully expect the prime minister to respect the constitutional amendment process and to sit down and negotiate with Alberta in good faith.”

When asked whether he thought negotiations would actually happen, Boissonnault pointed to the amount of federal money and support — including from the armed forces — that Alberta has received during the pandemic.

“That’s the very principle behind equalization, making sure that every Canadian has a fair chance of success, no matter where they live,” he said.


“Every province, including us in Alberta, has benefited from the program at some point and that equalization program enables provinces to deliver education, world-class health care, and other services that Canadians rely on. So it’s a fundamental example of Canadians supporting each other and of Canadian values.”


Though a formal request to begin negotiations with Ottawa has yet to pass in the Alberta legislature, Kenney has suggested topics for negotiation could include changes to the fiscal stabilization program, or federal legislation around oil tankers and energy projects.

Boissonnault said those are the type of concerns Kenney should discuss with other premiers at the Council of the Federation meetings because they require “significant consensus across the country to achieve.”

On the day the new cabinet was announced, Alberta politicians, including Kenney, began raising concerns about the appointment of Steven Guilbeault as Canada’s new environment and climate change minister.

Kenney called the appointment of Guilbeault, a well-known environmental activist who has been vocally opposed to pipelines and once climbed onto the roof of then-premier Ralph Klein’s home, “very problematic.”

Boissonault said concerns over climate change were the top issue he heard from voters while campaigning.

“When we have (energy) companies like Cenovus and Suncor committing to a net zero future and to decarbonizing their industry, that is something that we can and must do as a federal government and every minister has a responsibility to making sure that that happens,” he said.


Parliament is set to return on Nov. 22.

— With files from Hamdi Issawi

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