Calgary Confederation MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Corey Hogan joins Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins to discuss the energy deal between the federal government and Alberta and more in this year-end interview. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: How serious is your government about getting behind Alberta’s drive for a new pipeline? Corey Hogan: We want a pipeline built. That’s why we have an MOU with the government of Alberta that underlines how that pipeline gets built. The Conservatives are happy to point out it’s a position that required a bit of a lift by the prime minister. But we did it, and we did it because we know how important a pipeline would be to the economy of Canada. Which is part of why it’s so unfortunate that the Conservatives brought forward a motion that had just the pieces of the MOU that they liked, while ignoring a lot of the very important components that make it a full package. I’ve been saying to a few people in a few contexts, this is game playing. They’ve created a motion where voting “yes” makes a pipeline less likely, and voting “no” makes a pipeline less likely. So I really wonder how much Pierre Poilievre wants a pipeline. MH: How do you achieve unity within your own caucus, when this MOU has created evident divisions? CH: That is true. Division is everywhere, right? Look no further than two MPs quitting the Conservative Party, one of them coming over to the Liberals. The reality is this is a big, diverse country. There are a lot of viewpoints that are out there that are going to be taken by various people. The way you balance them is exactly how the prime minister did by saying: let’s look at the whole picture. Let’s get everything on the table. Let’s talk about our environmental goals. Let’s talk about our economic goals and let’s tie those together. That is exactly what the memorandum of understanding with Alberta does. It’s supported by a conservative premier, Danielle Smith. It is supported by Prime Minister Mark Carney. It’s unfortunate the whole MOU is not supported by Pierre Poilievre. MH: On the point of the MOU, how do you view the responsibility resting on the shoulders of the Alberta government to carry the pipeline forward? CH: The MOU commits the Government of Alberta to having conversations with affected parties, which is something we would call best practice whenever you’re building anything, right? You want to make sure the communities are involved. You get better projects when that happens. (B.C.) Premier David Eby has said he would be open to a West Coast pipeline under certain conditions, so we’re not starting from nowhere. One of the things that makes a pipeline much more likely to happen is exactly the table the prime minister has set. With effective carbon pricing, with action on methane and investments in pathways which would take carbon out of the air entirely and relies on a strong industrial carbon price. We’ve got the conditions here and now it’s about doing the hard work. MH: Suspension of clean electricity rules, tanker ban exemption, emissions cap, all potentially on the table with this MOU. What does that say about your government’s commitment to climate policy? CH: It says we’re going to be practical in our commitment to climate policy. When we talk about the clean electricity regulations, the conversation we’re having with Alberta is: how do we get to 2050 Net Zero, something we all agree to, in a way that reduces or creates no more emissions, or no additional emissions, relative to base case? How do we do that in a way that is flexible, is consistent with the idea we’re going to be a pragmatic government. We’re going to get down to the ground and we’re going to work with provinces on things that work for them. Alberta’s electricity sector looks very different from B.C.’s, looks very different from Ontario’s or Quebec’s. By taking a practical approach to the Clean Electricity Regulations, we can have our cake and eat it too. We can say this works for Alberta. This doesn’t create any more emissions and this works for Alberta. MH: Former Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk is driving the now-verified “Forever Canadian” petition. He told us he met with your federal caucus in Ottawa not long ago. What sense of urgency is there from your side in quelling separatist efforts in Alberta? CH: Obviously the country needs to work for all of the provinces. I think we all know that. I also don’t want to overstate separatist sentiment. Polls would show it between 20 and 30 per cent. Most Albertans are fiercely proud Canadians, fiercely patriotic. There’s always that line to walk between acknowledging legitimate concerns and not feeding or validating. The separatist movement is not a majority movement in Alberta. Any Albertan knows that. The way you do that is just govern well, right? Try to make sure you’re being pragmatic, try to make sure you’re working with people. You also do have to have a moral core still, and you need to stand by your values. Because I think Albertans also expect people to stand by their values. MH: There is a lot of focus on the pipeline push. What else is realistically on the radar where Alberta and nation-building projects are concerned? CH: We’ve already talked about pathways, which is part of the overall bundle with pipelines in the platform. There was talk about high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton being explored. The reality is Calgary and Edmonton are major, major population centers. They will benefit disproportionately, I’d even argue, from some of the investments in housing, some of the investments in infrastructure. Really the foundation the budget sets about making Canada more economically competitive. That should be music to every Albertan’s ears. That’s really playing to our strengths in business. It creates a good foundation that Albertans will definitely take advantage of. We’re an entrepreneurial people and we get things done when we’re given the tools to get things done. MH: So far in your term, what has being a Liberal MP from Alberta opened your eyes to about governance? CH: A lot of things. First, the struggle can sometimes be real. We really need to make sure central Canada understands that Western Canada has a perspective. Western Canada has a distinct culture, and we’re not all the same. You’ve got to look at things in detail, not just with these broad brush strokes. The thing I’ve personally felt the most is just, this is a 24/7 job. You know that going into it, but it’s a different thing to feel it. I miss how much I’m away from my kids and my wife. I miss how much I’m away from my home in Calgary, but it’s important work, and it’s an important time. What really struck me is just how passionate everybody here is about trying to make this country work, whatever their definition of it is, they want to make it work. They want to make things happen.
