Danielle Smith ain't waiting for Mark Carney, pushes ahead on oil pipeline...

Plus, Carney struggles with Trump and Marineland's whales.

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Danielle Smith has decided not to wait for Mark Carney any longer, she and Alberta will go it alone. With no pipeline on the list of major projects supported by the Carney government that was announced just a few weeks ago, Smith announced the province will lead planning discussions for an oil pipeline to the northwest British Columbia coast.

From the province’s news release:

With the advice and technical support of three major pipeline companies, Alberta’s government, acting as proponent, will develop and submit a formal application for a project of national significance to the Federal Major Projects Office under the Building Canada Act. Indigenous communities in Alberta and British Columbia are being engaged from Day 1. Indigenous co-ownership, partnership and perspectives will be critical to every stage of project development and execution.

So the province will undertake the planning and technical expertise portion of the project - perhaps they will remain a partner - but the goal is to get the project and as Smith said, Canada’s economy rolling.

“This project application is about more than a pipeline; it’s about unlocking Canada’s full economic potential. By doing this the right way from Day 1 with Indigenous partners and industry expertise, we will deliver a proposal that proves this project is undeniably in the national interest,” Smith said.

“Together, we are charting a path to secure Canada’s energy future for generations while bringing the world’s most ethically and responsibly produced energy to market.”

When Smith was positive and calling for Albertans to give Carney a chance after the Major Projects List was released without an oil pipeline, many thought that she must have been given insider info from Carney, maybe a promise that the emissions cap would be lifted. Of course, the cap has not been lifted, nothing has happened that the rest of us can see, but Smith is taking this on now.

For those interested in more, and there is a lot more to say, you can watch Smith’s news conference here.

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Carney’s failure to launch…

The fact that Danielle Smith had to take this step and push for the government to shepherd a pipeline ties in with my latest column in the Toronto Sun. I’m not talking about oil at all, it’s about how Carney promised Canadians he knew how to deal with Trump, would get us a deal and now months later he hasn’t and job losses are mounting, the economy is worsening and we are facing new tariffs instead of getting the deal Carney promised.

On oil and a pipeline, he was always cagey during the Liberal leadership and election. He’d say one thing in Western Canada, another in Quebec, a feature of Canadian politics that I thought was dead with the internet and Google translate but apparently not, it worked.

The Liberals are trying to have their cake and eat it on the energy file - keep Trudeau’s horrible policies in place and pretend that they are friends of the industry.

Calgary Liberal MP Corey Hogan is an example of this.

He bemoans layoffs at Imperial Oil, but as David Knight Legg pointed out on X, it was just a week earlier that Corey voted against repealing the emissions/production cap that is hurting the oil and gas industry, and jobs in Alberta.

Give David a follow on X if you are there, he offers smart commentary.

Saving the whales by possibly killing them…

If you grew up anywhere near Southern Ontario you know the jingle, “Everyone loves Marineland!”

Well, I apparently don’t because I don’t think I’ve ever been there and now I can’t go because the place is closed. It ran from 1961 until 2024, was loved by millions, hated by activists and to be honest was not without controversy.

I don’t think the people who started it, who ran it or who wanted to keep it going were bad people but that’s how the animal activists portrayed them. Once upon a time having amusements with animals in them was commonplace. Improving the lot of the animals is a good thing, but I don’t think cutting humans off from experiencing animals is a good thing. That’s what the activists want though, no zoos, no aquariums, no learning.

Seems that is what Joanne Thompson, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries wants as well.

After the founders of Marineland passed, the company they built struggled and they tried to shift. A plan was hatched to export the 30 remaining beluga whales earlier this year and the company sought an export permit.

There aren’t many places that can take 30 beluga whales, or any beluga whales. For those asking, no, you can’t just release animals raised in captivity into the wild unless you want them to die quickly.

Marineland examined several possible options, came to an agreement with Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a massive aquarium in China and sought an export permit. Things appeared to be going well with the bureaucrats at the department and then Minister Thompson got involved and wanted to tour the facility, which she did on September 5, 2025.

On October 1, she denied the export permit, now there is the real possibility these whales could die, be euthanized.

Before I post the statements from the minister and from Marineland, let me tell you what I know about how this decision came down.

The minister or her office informed the activists opposed to Marineland, and all zoos/aquariums about the decision before they informed Marineland, the guardians of these animals. The minister also did a beautifully shot, wonderfully lit, soft focus interview with CBC that was shot before the decision on the export permits was communicated to Marineland.

CBC as you may have guessed, is on the side of the activist groups.

It’s all really shoddy and unprofessional.

Here is the minister’s statement:

This morning, Fisheries and Oceans Canada informed Marineland I have denied their request to export thirty belugas to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in China. To approve the request would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment. The decision to not export these mammals aligns with the clear regulations laid out in the Fisheries Act, and the amendments made in 2019 which aim to protect marine mammals from exploitation.

Like many of you, I am angered that these whales have lived a life of captivity and as a result their health has deteriorated. As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.

Canadians expect me to act in the best interest of the whales. Under difficult circumstances with regrettable outcomes, that is what I have done.

Just to hammer home this point, if these animals are not in captivity, they will die quickly. The minister should understand this, she’s either foolish or playing to emotions.

Here is Marineland’s statement:

Judge for yourselves…

Contact your MP today…