Photo: Premier Brad Wall
By Katie Ryan
The premier was south of the border last week, sharing the Saskatchewan story. And despite the province’s recent financial report, Wall maintained the province’s story is not only a good one, it’s a green one.
“There is a story to tell about our economy and our comparative strength,” he said from Washington during a phone conference. “American leaders continue to show a lot of interest in Saskatchewan’s massive energy resource and our leadership position in carbon capture and sequestration.”
Wall met with top senators, including Senator John Kerry who is leading Senate discussions to reach a climate bill compromise and President Barack Obama’s climate change and energy expert, Carol Browner.
Talk at the table centred around Saskatchewan’s carbon capture and storage projects as a solution to the emissions problems plaguing and polluting, the U.S.
“Our provincial position is that this program needs to be more than just a tax that transfers wealth, it needs to be about re-investment and technology that will get us to the solutions on carbon,” said Wall.
Wall is seeking $100 million in funding and support from the U.S. for a $270 million carbon emissions deal written earlier this year between Saskatchewan and Montana. The multi-million dollar project, which would see greenhouse gases shipped by pipeline from a southern Saskatchewan coal-fired electrical-generation plant to Montana by pipeline for storage underground, has been described as the world’s largest international carbon capture and sequestration initiative.
“I think there is a sense here that if there are levies collected as a result of caps that are imposed and the other model is more of a credit and trading system, if there are levies collected that they ought to go to re-invested technology. That was certainly Senator Kerry’s position and Senator Graham’s as well,” said Wall.
“What we are talking about is a “cap and cut” where that money goes to technology to cut transmissions.”
Wall hopes for a decision on funding the Saskatchewan-Montana project early next year.
“I think that we are going to make progress on the project that we have been working for a long time on,” he added.
Also on Wall’s Washington agenda was the Buy American Policy, which he said interrupted the integrated supply chain between Canada and the U.S.
“Whether it’s agricultural implements, manufactured goods or top quality food, everyone benefits from free and unencumbered trade,” Wall continued.
“The relationship we need to build and the profile we need to build really is a process and not an event, so we are going to keep working at it.”
All of the premiers will congregate in Washington to meet with the National Governors Association in February.
“All of the premiers agree that we need to continue to work bilaterally, that each premier should be going to Washington, should be engaging with governors on the trade issues that we face on issues of energy and the environment,” said Wall.
“It’s not either/or, the federal government is engaged, individual premiers are engaged, as a group and as a region.”