If you have ever wondered whether the rebranding of Alberta Environment as “Alberta Environment and Water” is little more than a facelift, you may not be alone.
According to documents obtained through Access to Information legislation, Environment Canada bureaucrats flag the new title as “purely a name change … not associated with any re-alignment of portfolio responsibilities.” That’s different from the provincial government’s take: Premier Alison Redford and Environment and Water Minister Diana McQueen have both described the name change as signaling Alberta’s renewed focus on water issues.
The documents are the result of a request I filed with the federal Environment department three months ago, soon after Redford appointed McQueen. In asking for briefing notes to federal Environment Minister Peter Kent, I was seeking information on Ottawa’s concerns or any projects or demands the federal government wanted on the agenda. The documents received offer very little insight as to the federal government’s thoughts on the new ministry, the new minister, emerging oilsands issues, COP 17, or carbon emissions, however. Instead, the package is really just letters to McQueen and outgoing minister Rob Renner. You’ll find them here.
What we do see is a spirit of cooperation — or, as federal bureaucrats describe it, “interest in working collaboratively” — that was also made central in Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne in the Alberta Legislature. From Alberta’s side of things, working “closely and openly with Ottawa” is key, as illustrated by the Redford government’s thumbs-up to dismantling the Wheat Board, getting tougher on crime, and bolstering a national energy strategy. From the federal government’s point of view, we can see in a letter from Kent to McQueen, dated Oct. 25, that there was already work underway to make last week’s announcement on oilsands monitoring possible: “it will be important for our governments to continue to work in partnership on a coordinated monitoring strategy for the oil sands.”
