La Belle Province finds itself in one fine pre-winter pickle.
There is an acute shortage of propane due to an ongoing strike at Canadian National Railway. The Quebec government is rationing remaining supplies, much to the growing worry of those in hospitals and nursing homes. Farmers are equally alarmed as many rely on propane for production.
The situation is so bad there are calls for the federal government to legislate the thousands of CNR employees back to work.
Meanwhile, here in Alberta there is a lot of knee slapping going on. Hey, aren’t these the same guys who oppose pipelines and deny Alberta its deserved riches?
Never missing an opportunity to grandstand and to score political points, Premier Jason Kenney could not contain himself with a direct message to Quebec Premier François Legault during a live Facebook Q&A on Nov. 21 that no doubt instantly appealed to Alberta’s hard right.
"We have technology that could guarantee you constant, stable access to propane and other fuels. They're called pipelines," said the premier, who added correctly the CNR strike is also hurting Alberta.
"If the government of Quebec is concerned about reliable access to propane and other fuels especially in a cold Quebec winter, then we have a very simple message for the government of Quebec: help us build additional pipeline capacity."
And while there is little doubt the propane crisis will force many in Quebec to rethink the province’s current hardline position on future pipelines, it’s both interesting and troubling that Kenny said “help us” – as in Alberta – during the eastern province’s crisis. Do we also hear between the lines of Kenney’s message “self-serving” and “self-seeking”?
The greater priority right now as the holiday season rapidly approaches is the question of how Albertans can rise above past petty grievances to help another province during a crisis when the cruel cold bite of pre-winter is threatening businesses and more importantly innocent citizens. More specifically, if the crisis deepens, is how can Alberta and other propane producing jurisdictions deliver more propane as quickly as possible to a struggling province before a human catastrophe unfolds?
And wouldn’t it be a true test of leadership, especially of the compassionate kind, for our premier to lead this discussion? And wouldn’t it also show to the rest of the country that Alberta is much more than a province of disgruntled separatists and Don Cherry fans?
Best of all the process could help many Albertans get over all their current anger and worry by simply redirecting that wasted energy towards thinking of others.
With Christmas coming soon, there could at last be real peace of mind.
Johnnie Bachusky is the editor of the Innisfail Province.
