This scribbler asks the question but I am not alone.
Other newshounds figure it has to be asked.
After all, Premier Danielle Smith heard Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was going to be in Calgary Wednesday and so she came down from Edmonton and had a meeting with him.
In the Wednesday sitdown, Smith told Trudeau to his face what she wanted done with Steven Guilbeault, the one-time Greenpeace warrior, the man once nicknamed the Green Jesus of Montreal, Trudeau’s main man on the environment and climate change file.
She wanted him punted, moved out of that job.
She said if someone else was the environment point man instead of Guilbeault she would be happy to reset the relationship on that front.
In the past Smith has never held back on how she feels about Guilbeault. For her, he is bad for Alberta and bad for Canada and is out of touch with the real world.
The premier has used a lot of strong words to describe Guilbeault.
What was Trudeau’s reaction to Smith’s request?
“I got a smile. I think he knows Minister Guilbeault is not my favourite minister,” says Smith.
So the question. Trudeau was already in a fired-up mood. He was ready to mix it up.
“Are you more or less likely to fire your environment minister because Premier Smith keeps saying you should fire your environment minister?”
Trudeau smiles and then laughs.
“I have tremendous faith and confidence in my environment minister,” says Trudeau.
“And, if people are having trouble getting along with him, maybe they need to look at their own approach to these big issues as opposed to looking at what he’s talking about, which is consistent with building a better future for everyone.”
Is Trudeau telling Smith to look in the mirror?
Er … guess Guilbeault is staying.
Smith and six other premiers want Trudeau NOT to hike the carbon tax on April Fools’ Day. It’s going up 23%.
Trudeau isn’t blinking.
The prime minister says he’s fighting climate change and sending out rebate cheques.
He says most Canadians are winners money-wise out of the deal.
Another question for Trudeau from this scribbler.
What do you say to people who aren’t buying what you just said?
You’ve got to give us something more.
Trudeau talked about everyone being stressed and the real challenges in the world and how you can’t have a plan for the economy if you don’t have a plan for climate change and how putting a price on carbon emissions makes sense.
He slams those he calls “short-term thinker politicians” who say they will axe the carbon tax.
“They don’t talk about the fact they’re also going to get rid of the cheques that put more money in the pockets of the vast majority of Canadians,” says Trudeau.
The PM then answers his own reading of the question.
Why are so many people still against what he’s doing?
“Well, you know, that’s a question we all have to ask. My job is not to be popular.”
Well, he’s achieved that.
“My job … Oh it helps.”
Helps to be popular. Laughs in the room.
“My job is to do the right things for Canada now and do the right things for Canadians a generation from now.
“And yeah, not always popular.”
Later, Smith is told Trudeau is backing Guilbeault and figures the Alberta premier and others are the problem.
Smith says Guilbeault has lost in court more than once but doesn’t accept the judgment.
Guilbeault “dropped a bomb on us” including “an emissions cap for oil and gas.”
He announced he did not want to build more roads and then had to walk it back though Alberta looks to be on the short end of the stick when it comes to roads money from Trudeau.
“He has been given a pretty free rein to trample the constitution and interfere with national unity and also interfere with investment,” says Smith, who adds she wants to deal with someone “pragmatic” instead of Guilbeault, who is a man on his own mission.
“We are responding to the fact we have an environment minister who is not following the rules and I’m going to push against that.”
Well, at least for the next while, one thing is clear.
Smith will have to be ready to push some more against what appears to be immovable.
rbell@postmedia.com
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