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Alberta Premier defends "embarrassing cousin" comment

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Premier Rachel Notley is doubling down on controversial comments that Alberta's environmental record makes the province the "embarrassing cousin" to the rest of Canada.

In a TV interview on Monday, Notley said the NDP government is working to improve the province's environmental reputation so Alberta can be "genuinely proud to be a leader as opposed to the embarrassing cousin no one wants to talk about."

The comment sparked some controversy on social media, with many people commenting that Alberta is not an embarrassment to Canada and Notley should be defending the province. Some compared the statement to former premier Jim Prentice's infamous "look in the mirror" comment.

As the NDP government probes options for a new tax on fuel or vehicle registration as part of its panel review on climate change, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said the remark shows the NDP is "putting ideology before reality."

"We don't need a carbon tax or a car tax to stop being 'embarrassing cousins.' We can take moderate, practical steps to make needed improvements on our environmental record without having to raise taxes on Albertans or put jobs at risk," he said.

"The fact is Alberta has a proud story to tell about our environmental progress along with our resource development."

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Responding to the controversy on Tuesday afternoon, Notley clarified that she was referring to a lack of environmental action from the former Progressive Conservative government and said "it's important to call a spade a spade."

"Our environmental record, essentially that of the government's, has not been one which has been worth boasting about quite frankly," she said, adding she always referred to the province's environmental record as embarrassing when she was an opposition MLA.

"Moving forward, we need to improve what we do on our record and it's not an easy conversation. We cannot have that conversation if we do not have an honest conversation. Rhetorical boosterism that suggests everything is just fine interferes with that well-informed, thoughtful conversation that Albertans need to have."

Notley said Alberta is the only province in Canada that doesn't have an energy efficiency program, doesn't have renewable energy strategy and doesn't have a climate change framework. The government is now working on all those plans, she said.

The NDP climate change panel recently held two open house consultations and will release recommendations to government this fall.

matthew.dykstra@sunmedia.ca

@SunMattDykstra

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