Premier Jason Kenney will join federal, provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa on Friday (March 13) as the First Ministers' meeting gets underway.
Some key points that will be hot topics of discussion will include Alberta's recent spate of COVID-19 and the international oil price war.
"Alberta and Canada are currently in uncharted territory, facing an economic crisis complicated by a public health threat, so it's more important than ever for Canada's premiers and prime minister to be laser-focused on protecting jobs and providing relief. I'm looking forward to ensuring Alberta jobs and the unique concerns of our provincial economy are priorities on the national stage," issued the Premier via a media release.
The public health threat of coronavirus will be the main course of the meeting. Canada's economy isn't the only one facing stagnant times during COVID-19. The impacts have been noticed globally as countries struggle to come to grips with the economic downturn.
Premier Kenney will be sending out that message that recent oil battles between Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States is not just a western issue but a national economic concern. It will require federal and provincial help to protect workers and employers, including measure such as payroll tax relief, job-creating stimulus, and access to capital to ensure companies do not become collateral damage in a geopolitical economic war.
In a media release Kenney stated that even before the current fiscal crisis, Alberta has led the way in reaching out to other provinces to build a consensus on issues such as reforming the federal Fiscal Stabilization Program to provide an 'equalization rebate,' building pipelines and economic corridors to get our goods to global markets, opening up inter-provincial free trade, and calling for regulatory certainty on permitting and approving major projects.
In last December's Council of the Federation meeting, Canada's premiers supported Alberta's plea for retroactive reforms to the Fiscal Stabilization Program which would remove any unreasonable and outdated caps and provide Alberta with a retroactive payment of $2.4 billion that the government would use to get Albertans back to work.
During uncertain times, global investors need to see that Alberta has a plan in place to protect jobs and the economy.
