Alberta premier to 'drop by and listen' to Al Gore
April 23, 2007 | 5:01 PM MT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/04/23/oil-speech.html
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach hopes to speak with climate change activist Al Gore at a sold-out lecture in Calgary Monday night.
Gore, the former U.S. vice-president who won an Academy Award for his climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, has openly criticized the oil patch and the world's reliance on non-renewable, carbon-based fuels.
He has also pointed an accusing finger at Alberta's prized oilsands, saying it takes far too much clean-burning natural gas to make a barrel of oilsands crude.
Stelmach said he hasn't seen the film, but if he had a chance to talk with Gore, he would point out that a large majority of Alberta oilsands production is exported directly to the United States.
"We're going to drop by and listen to what Mr. Gore has to say," Stelmach said. "I've always said … that we will listen to different points of views, gather the information, put it all together and do what is best for Alberta."
Stelmach said his office has tried to set up a meeting with Gore.
Earlier in the day, a speech by Stelmach to a Calgary oil and gas conference sparked a protest by a group worried about further oilsands expansion.
Leila Darwish with the Sierra Club said Stelmach should have attended a nearby hearing on the future of oilsands expansion instead of speaking to a private group.
"He's more interested in getting cozy with big money than listening to his people who are concerned about the environment and about the social impacts of the Conservatives and what they're doing when it comes to our energy in Alberta," Dawish said.
Many people want a moratorium on further development, she said, but the premier has made it clear he will not put the brakes on growth in northern Alberta.
During the Sierra Club's demonstration, two protesters shared an impromptu bed on the street, in which one held a sign that said "Big Oil" and the other "The Alberta government."
During his speech, Stelmach rehashed his government's recent provincial budget and touted the need for more workers to keep pace with Alberta's boom.
With files from Canadian Press
