Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley has kicked off her second day of election campaigning with a promise to get more value out of the province’s oil and gas products.
She announced the plan at an Edmonton-based fabrication and engineering company.
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It aims to unlock $75 billion in investment, create 70,000 jobs and significantly increase the amount of petroleum processed in-province by 2030.
Notley says that will be achieved — if the NDP are re-elected — by doubling incentives for petrochemical and upgrading projects over the next decade to $7 billion.
She says the expanded incentives will be made available on a more flexible, rolling basis.
Notley says it’s time to act like resource owners once again in Alberta, just like under former Progressive Conservative premier Peter Lougheed in the 1970s and 80s.
“We didn’t get where we are today in Alberta by sitting back and waiting for things to happen,” she said Wednesday.
“The world is changing quickly and Albertans expect their government to look forward, not back. Our plan is to make and ship more of the upgraded products the world needs. This will mean finally getting off the boom and bust roller-coaster after decades of talk.”
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“It’s time we start acting like resource owners once again in Alberta, as we did under Premier Lougheed.”
Notley is to make stops in Red Deer and Lethbridge later Wednesday.
Election day is April 16.
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