Premier Danielle Smith insists she is not looking for a fight but if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to drop the gloves she is more than ready to put him in his place.
Smith, in an exclusive interview, makes her point clear from the get-go.
She is not going to tolerate Trudeau sticking his nose into the province’s business.
If Trudeau and the federal Liberal government want to do an end run around the provincial government and make side deals with cities or other local governments or Alberta public sector organizations to push their agenda it will be a no-go.
There will be an Alberta law saying there will be no deals whatsoever between the feds and these groups, including the big cities, without a thumbs-up from the province and, without that green light, agreements will not be worth the paper they’re written on.
“He is the one who punches us in the nose and we just punch back and we’re going to keep on punching back until he recognizes he’s got to treat us in a different way,” says Smith, of Trudeau.
“He should go back and read his constitution.”
We know where this is going.
Smith says Trudeau has two choices.
One is the Trudeau government “respecting us and working with us” as they do with Quebec, who has a similar law already on the books, and giving federal dollars to Alberta on a per-person basis.
“We just want to be treated the same way as Quebec,” says Smith.
The other choice is the Trudeau government doesn’t go that route, doesn’t work with the province and maybe even withholds money from Alberta and then we’re talking a court fight.
From the sounds of it, more like a brawl.
“We’ll either see them at the negotiating table or we’ll see them in court,” says Smith, who is not holding back any of her fire this day.
“Hey look, we’re not shy about taking them to court and we’ve had a couple of victories so I’m feeling pretty good if that’s the direction they want to go.”
The premier did not actually say: “Go ahead, make my day” but you get the picture.
“They’re using their federal spending power for political purposes in violation of the spirit of the Constitution. It’s just blatantly political and he’s going to have to wear that.”
In Calgary last week, Trudeau said he just wants to help.
“Ask any Albertan if they would accept the federal government saying: Hey, we’re here from the federal government and we’re here to help. No one will believe that,” says Smith.
The Alberta premier says with the Trudeau government “there’s always an angle.”
“They pick favourites. They pick winners and losers. They implement programs unfairly.”
Smith says the Trudeau government bases its decisions on who has had the most success lobbying the prime minister and it leaves many places out in the cold.
The premier says Trudeau is shafting Alberta badly when it comes to housing dollars, the province is about a billion bucks short by Smith’s calculation based on what the feds negotiated with Quebec and B.C.
Roads and other projects are also not getting their rightful share of federal money.
“To add insult to injury, we know we are a massive net contributor to Confederation,” says Smith, knowing that fact is a burr in many saddles.
“The federal dollars he’s waving around, the lion’s share of them come from Alberta and then he’s not even distributing them back fairly.”
Smith adds the Trudeau government sometimes duplicates what the province is doing and wastes money or they dole out dough for things not in line with what the province is doing “so it is counter to what Albertans want.”
One thing the premier makes sure to mention is how the feds pony up for electric buses in Edmonton that don’t work and then come in with huge cash for electric buses in Calgary.
Smith talks about how those dollars could have been spent to start building out commuter rail or running trains to both the big airports.
“I don’t think all of these announcements are just a measure of good will. I think they’re entirely political and he knows it.”
The premier adds it looks like the prime minister wants to be a premier as he continues to butt into areas where the province calls the shots.
“If he wants to be a premier then he should quit his job and go run to be a premier.”
Meanwhile, Trudeau defends giving cash to cities because they “can change the way cities are built.”
He talks about “better zoning.”
In Calgary later this month, Mayor Jyoti Gondek and city council will hold a public hearing on rezoning neighbourhoods where only single detached homes are permitted.
Smith says it’s not Trudeau’s job “to dictate to municipalities what their zoning should be.”
“I don’t think most people would think that’s reasonable.”
Of course, what most people think is reasonable does not often win the day without a fight in the Canada of Justin Trudeau.
rbell@postmedia.com
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