Exclusive Interview: Brian Jean, Alberta’s Minister of Energy and Minerals

Every Alberta government, even the anti-oil NDP, claims that they are the ones to get pipelines built. But when push comes to shove, instead of seeing rapidly expanding access to global markets and massive economic boons from our energy sectors, we are left facing disappointing cancelled pipeline projects and growth that is being dwarfed by other energy leaders in the world.

Rebel News joined Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals Brian Jean to ask what makes a Danielle Smith led UCP different and how do they plan to take Alberta to the next level and get some pipes in the ground.

Alberta’s production, in terms of barrels of oil produced per day, is roughly 1/10th of OPECs, so I asked Jean what it would take for Alberta to compete on produce on that level? We also discussed whether the province needed to do some growing up and realize that we have the resources to move beyond being a global energy participant and emerge as a true frontrunner.

Albertans clearly have the work ethic to get the job done and our resources are abundant, so I asked Jean about some of the other external factors that are hindering our energy industries from growing as rapidly as they could.

Since Biden vetoed Keystone XL, Alberta has been trying to make progress while Trudeau, Ottawa, BC and Quebec, to name a few, seem to be actively undermining our prosperity and growth in the name of climate sensitivity, ironically enough while most of them are polluting at levels Alberta will likely never reach.

We discussed Alberta’s place in Canada when all we seem to do it pay out equalization and endure economic ambush from provinces and federal government that should justly be aiding us as allies.

We also asked Jean about the troubles landlocked provinces face in attempting to access global markets with no tidewater ports of their own and discussed minister of transportation and economic corridors Devin Dresheen’s efforts to establish, as his title would suggest, economic corridors inter-provincially and to international ports.

Alberta has some of the most ethical oil in the world, not only environmentally, but also in terms of human rights conditions, labour standards, not to mention the wealth generated for first nations communities. Despite all of this, there is still a bizarre apologetic tone that surrounds the industry, even by oil companies, with net-zero rhetoric and enviro-buzzwords everywhere, including within Danielle Smith’s UCP.

Smith has made clear that she will advocate for our industries and battle Trudeau in court if needed, but we wanted to ask Jean at what point Alberta should get on with business and drop the language of the left and whether other nations are also engaged in this eco-rhetoric as they promote their industries.

Finally, I challenged Alberta’s relatively new minister of energy and resources to lay down a commitment as to what he feels he needs to accomplish in the position in order to earn folks votes once again in four years time.

If you ever make the mistake of accidentally tuning in to mainstream media you aren’t likely to see Alberta energy sectors getting a fair shake, and that is because those outlets are beholden to handouts from a radically anti-oil government. To support our truly independent journalism that supports the industries that helped build this country, consider supporting us at RebelFieldReports.com.