Justin Trudeau extols government feats on tour in frustrated Calgary

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on tiptoe Thursday in Calgary after frustration over the province's current financial difficulties and a day after his finance minister unveiled a tax update that, according to his Alberta counterpart, shown that Ottawa was on another economic planet.

Trudeau made several appearances throughout the city, beginning with a visit to an affordable housing complex, before speaking to the Calgary Chamber or Commerce, meeting with oil and gas leaders, meeting with the Mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, and go to women's hockey. Festival.

He was greeted by a protest, calling on Ottawa to do more for the energy sector. By 12:30 pm MT, hundreds of people had gathered outside the hotel where Trudeau was talking and had shut down part of Center Street in downtown Calgary, chanting "build this pipe!"

During its first shutdown, Trudeau announced a $ 31 million investment for the construction of a 15-story affordable rental tower tower in the southwest of the city for middle-class families.

It will house 121 units once completed and Trudeau said that he would use energy storage, wind, solar and battery power to make the project energy efficient and help residents save money. money on their bills.

Budget Update Reaction

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented Ottawa's latest financial plans, which provided for the opportunity for businesses, including oil and gas producers, to cancel related capital expenditures. in the manufacture.

But Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci was unhappy that the tax update did not include a direct budget line to help strengthen the troubled energy sector in the province and help close the price gap between the reference price of oil and oil from Alberta.

"Ottawa lives on another economic planet. We have to put our product on the water and nothing is stopping us there today. This update does not address one of Albertans' biggest concerns: to get fair value for our non-renewable resource, "This was reported to media on Wednesday afternoon.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers praised these tax deductions as "a positive first step" and not a solution to the problems of the energy sector.

No answers on oil by rail, money for Calgary

Trudeau dodged a question about whether his government would help move more oil by rail when reporters asked him questions on Thursday morning. He rather touted the tax movement.

He said that he was in Calgary to listen to the industry about his concerns and possible solutions.

Trudeau used the same course of action when asked if he would pledge some of the money promised for a possible return from the Calgary Olympics to the city when he would meet Nenshi .

"As for the possibility of working more with the mayor, I am trying to define his priorities and listen to them," he said.

Trudeau did not propose anything new to a business audience on Thursday afternoon, but added that the planned tax deductions, combined with another tax benefit related to the amortization of assets, would help businesses.

"With these changes, the marginal effective tax rate on new business investment in Canada will once again be the lowest in the G7, making a difference for Alberta businesses looking for this benefit." competitive, "he said.

Notley says Alberta will buy cars itself

Earlier Thursday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told a crowd of people at the Calgary Petroleum Club that if Ottawa did not want to increase rail oil capacity, the province would find a way to buy additional wagons herself.

She also expanded the exemptions from carbon tax costs for drillers and said six projects were under consideration as part of a provincial investment to partially upgrade bitumen in Alberta, which would facilitate transport and refining.

On Tuesday, the Alberta government announced that it would increase its commitment to two petrochemical programs, raising the available incentives from $ 1 billion to $ 2.1 billion.