00:03:00.000you for joining us today it was an honor to host the western premier's conference here in beautiful
00:03:04.880kananaskis country and i'm grateful to my western premier colleagues for being fantastic partners
00:03:09.680in strengthening the country i'm also grateful to the indigenous business leaders who joined the
00:03:14.320western premiers in a round table yesterday to explore practical approaches to economic
00:03:18.800reconciliation we had a productive discussion sharing successes and lessons learned and
00:03:24.320opportunities to strengthen collaboration across the west we all understand that this is canada's
00:03:29.520moment and that we need to work together to make the most of it. To achieve the prosperity and
00:03:34.800change we want to see in this great country, we need unity, certainty, and stability that enables
00:03:39.800each province and territory to develop their economies and to export their resources to the
00:03:45.040world. We are all stronger members of a united Canada. We are committed to working together and
00:03:51.700with the federal government through challenging issues that have created frustration for many
00:03:55.780Western Canadians to create a more prosperous future. There are many ways to do this because
00:04:00.500Western Canada is home to an incredibly diverse economy. We have vast energy and mineral resources,
00:04:06.520tremendous agricultural capacity, deep innovation in everything from AI to life sciences to carbon
00:04:12.100capture, and transportation networks that connect it all together. The West punches above its weight.
00:04:17.500In fact, we rival Ontario's economy. Last year, Western Canadian provinces and territories
00:04:23.300accounted for more than 41 percent of Canada's global exports. Our energy alone represented more
00:04:29.720than 27 percent of that total. The West's agricultural products were almost half of
00:04:34.920Canada's exports in the field. Collectively, the Western province's population is the same size
00:04:41.260as Ontario's, and we have the same GDP generation as Ontario. In fact, the West is responsible for
00:04:47.36037 percent of Canada's total GDP, and those are impressive numbers, but to realize the West's
00:04:52.860true potential, we need to think bigger because we are just getting started. Thinking big was a
00:04:57.100huge part of our conversations these past couple of days. In all of our discussions, the focus
00:05:01.200was on how to position Western Canada as a global leader. We are pleased to publicly release an
00:05:06.440Economic Corridors in Western Canada report, which helps map the infrastructure and trade
00:05:10.860connections needed to unlock the West's full potential. The report advances upon the objectives
00:05:16.000achieved by the Western Premiers through the MOU that we signed in 2025.
00:05:22.900If Canada wants growth, resilience, and expanding access to global markets,
00:05:26.580we need corresponding federal investment and partnership in a port-to-port-to-port strategy.
00:05:32.140We discuss prioritizing nation-building projects from pipelines, rail, and ports
00:05:37.000to electricity transmission and trade corridors.
00:05:39.820We all agree that more federal investment and faster action are needed on these projects,
00:05:44.440And we welcome the federal government's intention to advance reforms to accelerate project approvals, which must be implemented through legislation and concrete policy changes.
00:05:54.420Canada can't afford delays in developing nation-building infrastructure.
00:05:58.260With KUSMA negotiations underway, we also agree on the importance of stable and predictable North American trade frameworks.
00:06:05.100We must strengthen our current trade relationships while also making sure that we develop new partnerships across the globe.
00:06:12.440We also discussed the growing importance of defence and national security in the West and the North.
00:06:18.180From Arctic sovereignty to critical infrastructure to reliable energy and supply chains,
00:06:23.780Western Canada has an essential role to play in Canada's security.
00:06:27.440Beyond economic growth, we discussed ensuring Western Canada has a strong voice
00:06:31.680in advancing practical reforms that keep communities safe, support victims, and strengthen frontline capacity.
00:06:37.500We shared deep concern and sorrow about the tragic events in Tumblr Ridge in February and discussed the need for federal legislation to address the needs for mandatory reporting of threats to protect communities.
00:06:50.200And finally, we also discussed this year's wildfire season and the need for additional federal funding for Western provinces and territories to continue investing in disaster preparedness.
00:07:00.420And we noticed that the federal government just announced an investment in additional 10 firefighting helicopters today, and we're grateful for that.
00:07:06.680There are many points of agreement among us, and we are firmly aligned on the need to continue to build a stronger, more competitive and secure Canada by fully realizing the strengths of the Western provinces and territories.
00:07:18.260I'm proud to be an advocate for the West's success, and I'm excited about how much we'll accomplish together for this nation that we love and the people that we serve.
00:07:25.740Thank you, and now we'd be happy to take questions.
00:07:28.660Thank you. We'll now enter the media Q&A portion.
00:07:31.140We'll be taking one question, one follow-up.
00:07:33.180A reminder to media to state your name and outlet before asking your question and direct it to the according premiers as well.
00:07:38.380We'll start up with questions here in the room and then before trying to make our way onto the Zoom call for some questions there too.
00:07:43.260We'll go ahead to our first at the mic.
00:07:45.080Hi there, Janet French with CBC Edmonton.
00:07:48.960So I understand that you met with chiefs yesterday, some Alberta First Nation chiefs, to hear their concerns about separation referendum question and other matters.
00:07:56.860And I'm wondering why did you want that meeting and tell us what happened in the meeting?
00:08:01.140Thank you. First of all, I want to thank Premier Smith and her team for doing a wonderful job in hosting us here in Kananaskis, and thanks to all the folks who work here at this beautiful hotel.
00:08:15.060So I come bearing an important message from the First Nations of Canada on the question of Alberta separation.
00:08:24.440I've heard loud and clear that Indigenous people from coast to coast to coast are prepared to use every treaty right at our disposal to ensure that Canada does not lose Conor McDavid.
00:08:36.840we wanted to spend some time with uh some of the leadership and uh of course i want to acknowledge
00:08:46.440the leaders who are participating in the round table here as well as a suggestion of goodwill
00:08:52.200this is um i was raised uh to pay respects when we came to a territory and so i would describe
00:08:59.960yesterday's meeting as a cultural gathering cultural visit and i was very moved they actually
00:09:05.800gave me a Blackfoot name during the opening ceremony that we had and we had a very good
00:09:11.800discussion. There was a lot of issues being raised of course but there was also a lot of cultural
00:09:20.760movements. We were moving to hear Cree and Blackfoot and Nakoda spoken in the meeting and
00:09:28.840of course I nodded along pretending that I understood what was being said in these other
00:09:33.560languages. But I had the opportunity to share with Premier Smith yesterday some of the concerns
00:09:40.520around Section 35 and the need for it to be respected. So there was some of that bringing
00:09:46.960forward a message, definitely. And I want to share that with the room here. I also had a message for
00:09:55.040the Chiefs, which is, I'm a patriot. I love this country. And I just wanted to say thanks as a
00:10:01.620fellow Canadian or the what the the leadership in the room would stop the referendum question
00:10:08.360from moving forward and I thought that that was important to to say as a representative of
00:10:15.540Manitoba and so we had a really good visit and then we came here and we had a really good meeting
00:10:19.700with our fellow premiers and so I think the other thing that I wanted to share is after the meeting
00:10:25.700and when we were leaving Calgary, we stopped at A&W
00:10:29.800and there was an older woman who was working there
00:10:32.840and she stopped me and she was handing me the brown paper bag
00:12:28.360go ahead turn next to the mic hi caroline bargoot with cbc national news this question is for premier
00:12:35.800eb a number of media outlets including bloomberg are reporting that canada has made a deal with
00:12:42.180a german company to buy lng from silicons can you talk a little bit about that and tell us
00:12:47.580where the project is at uh sure um let me uh begin by uh thanking our host here in alberta
00:12:54.120We had a great meeting and this is a beautiful part of the world. I've never been to Kananaskis before and I got my first pair of cowboy boots. So it's been a memorable visit. So thank you, Premier Smith, and thank you to your team and to everyone who hosted us here.
00:13:09.500um the uh one of the things we're really proud of uh in british columbia is uh our ability to get
00:13:17.440big things done and the role uh that we see for ourselves in the future of canada and the kind
00:13:24.140of economy that we're trying to build for canadians uh from coast to coast to coast when
00:13:28.840we're canada can stand on our own two feet when we're diversifying our trade flows uh and uh and
00:13:34.700we see a key role for ourselves in that and we're delivering um we have about 88 billion dollars of
00:13:39.340projects uh that are moving towards final investment decision including the largest
00:13:43.500private sector investment in canadian history lng canada phase two uh this has been the work of
00:13:48.460yours uh and uh solism's lng is a project of the niska nation uh proud 3d nation modern treaty
00:13:57.820nation in british columbia they've done incredible work we've been supportive from the very beginning
00:14:01.820of their initiative and i am so glad to see the federal government joining us to take the
00:14:09.980foundation that has been built in british columbia the work of argument the work of first nations
00:14:15.660working in partnership the work of communities and and take it to the next level feel like i'm
00:14:22.700like uh feel like british columbia is throwing the ball up uh and uh and it's given the federal
00:14:28.060government a chance to take that alley-oop and dunk it and this announcement that the federal
00:14:33.660government will be sharing more about is about how we can work together to deepen those trading
00:14:39.660relationships around the world in this case with Germany and it really reflects what is possible
00:14:47.340when we work together and the role that British Columbia is going to play in building this economy
00:14:52.220So we look forward to celebrating the formal announcement of this with the NISCA, with the federal government.
00:15:00.240It's an example of the work we're doing together.
00:15:04.020My follow-up is, where is Solisim's at?
00:15:06.340Has construction begun on that project?
00:15:09.020Well, they have all of their permits from the provincial government, and they're ready to go.
00:15:14.980They are working towards what's called final investment decision, which is the go-no-go decision on construction.
00:15:22.220And part of the work to get to final investment decision is securing offtake agreements, that's commitments to buy ELNG from the facility.
00:15:29.620So a major announcement with a European partner of purchasing LNG gets us that much closer to final investment decision of this more than $10 billion investment in British Columbia and Canada.
00:15:44.080Thank you. We'll go to our next up mic.
00:15:48.100Another BC reporter, Ben O'Hara-Byrne.
00:15:49.880To David Eby, yesterday you said you'd come here looking for clarity about what exactly your counterpart, Danielle Smith, was up to with her question on separation.
00:15:59.520How satisfied are you with the answers, and what did you hear?
00:17:06.240I remain incredibly anxious, frankly, about this.
00:17:10.680i've seen the brexit referendum that was just supposed to be a chance for people to to express
00:17:17.080the clarity that they wanted to stay part of the eu and it did not end up that way
00:17:21.400i communicated those anxieties to premier smith she understands them and my hope is that we can
00:17:27.800all come together and as a unified country address those concerns because we can address shared
00:17:34.840concerns together just like a family we can work it out together and we'll be stronger for it and
00:17:40.680and that's where I hope we end up. And to you, Premier Smith, what did you hear from your
00:17:44.440counterparts at this table about those same concerns? This reads like a manifesto of why
00:17:48.040there shouldn't be a referendum. As I told you yesterday, in British Columbia, Alberta, and
00:17:52.880Saskatchewan, we have citizen-initiated referenda. British Columbia themselves had one when 700,000
00:17:58.880people signed a petition on the HST, and that went to a vote, and it probably didn't go the way the
00:18:03.000government of the time thought it would go either. And so we're very conscious of the fact that
00:18:08.860700,000 citizens signed one of two petitions wanting to have this question.
00:18:13.300And it's my job to ensure that they have hope in Canada again,
00:18:17.360that we have to address the legitimate grievances
00:18:19.640that have come from 10 years of economic attack on our province.
00:18:24.380And I'm grateful that the Prime Minister is working with us
00:18:28.000to address those legitimate grievances.
00:18:30.160And so that's what I'm going to be working on over the next five months
00:18:33.000is to convince those Albertans who have lost hope
00:18:35.660that there's reason to have hope again.
00:18:36.880And I hope it's forums like this that allow for Albertans to see just how strong we are as a Western Canadian group of provinces and territories.
00:18:47.860It is, when you think about the incredible opportunity that we have, that we're already the population size and economic strength of Ontario,
00:18:57.460and we're just getting started on opening up markets into Asia.
00:19:03.020It seems to me that when you look at what we've agreed to in this communicate, there is an incredible amount of optimism and hope that we'll be able to work together to develop those corridors.
00:19:12.940So I think that that was what we spent most of our time talking about over the last couple of days.
00:19:17.920Hi there, Julia Wong, CBC National. This is for Premier Smith.
00:19:25.520You said it's worth taking a look at Section 35 of the Constitution, which affirms treaty rights, and includes a duty to consult with Indigenous groups.
00:19:33.080I know that Manitoba Premier Canu said that he told you he wants it to be respected.
00:19:38.080I wonder if you brought this up with your counterparts, and if so, what conversations were had?
00:19:43.240No, I mean, the way we're going to seek clarity is through the court.
00:19:46.480We think that the duty to consult is meant to be looked at through a lens of major projects, and we take that very seriously.
00:19:54.100We had an Indigenous roundtable yesterday where I shared with the premiers how we're using our Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation to help underwrite major project participation, to give revenues to Indigenous nations, and how we want to continue engaging with Indigenous nations on that.
00:20:11.820But the issue, I think, in the court is whether that duty to consult should apply to citizen-initiated petitions.
00:20:19.940And that's where I think that the court erred in judgment, and I think it's also anti-democratic, the decision that they made.
00:20:26.000But we'll make the arguments in court about what the limits to duty to consult ought to be, and we'll see how that conversation goes.
00:20:32.920There's a couple of rounds that we have to go through, obviously, to Court of Appeal, probably also to the Supreme Court of Canada.
00:20:38.120but we want to make sure that we have a very clear understanding of what the duty to consult
00:20:42.480really means and what it doesn't mean and I think at the moment there's a lack of clarity on that
00:20:46.600and you've talked a lot about I'd like to respond so I think we know that that that is not correct
00:20:54.000a lot of what you just said there Premier Smith specifically and we spoke about this so I don't
00:20:59.860mind repeating this it is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfill the duty to consult it is up
00:21:07.060to you as the Alberta government to fulfill the duty to consult. And in this case, when there's
00:21:13.780clearly going to be an impact on well-established existing hunting and fishing rights by putting up
00:21:19.660an international border, if some would have their way, the judge ruled, and I would agree with the
00:21:25.540judge's ruling, that that is going to infringe on rights. And so there is a duty to consult.
00:21:30.200Now, to take a step further, for the Albertan who's been frustrated over the lack of progress on pipelines, he's got the Premier of BC announcing LNG, we're working on Churchill, we're working on Northern Trade Corridors.
00:21:46.920This is a moment to get big things built in Manitoba.
00:21:50.640And I would say now is the time to work together.
00:21:54.660Why don't we hold off on this referendum talk for a year or two
00:21:58.060and see if we get these pipelines under construction?
00:22:00.860Because at the end of the day, we want Canada to succeed.
00:24:49.600I mean, British Columbians sent me here with a clear mission, which is to work with the other premiers and get things done for the country.
00:24:58.760They are not asking me to fight with other premiers.
00:25:02.120they're not asking me to uh to uh delay uh things they're just saying make sure that our interests
00:25:08.860are represented around creating jobs creating opportunities supporting my family with having
00:25:13.240enough money to pay the bills and deal with the cost of living those are the priorities of british
00:25:17.820that's what i come to this table with i disagree profoundly with premier smith's referendum i think
00:25:22.460it is a huge mistake um and premier smith disagrees with me profoundly about uh issues related to a
00:25:28.540pipeline to the north coast to the north coast tanker ban that's okay uh we can disagree with
00:25:33.300each other and uh and uh she can still give me a real nice pair of boots and i can come here and
00:25:38.960say what an amazing province you have uh we got to find a way to work these things out together
00:25:43.440at the table uh and we have to be at the table to be able to do that and we will thank you all right
00:25:50.200we'll go to our next to the mic hi there edward jen from city news my first question is for the
00:25:54.580Premier of Alberta. Premier Smith, you said that
00:25:58.440BC leadership, both current and previous, has led or
00:26:02.340contributed to separatism sentiment here in Alberta. Following the
00:26:06.480two days that you had with the Premiers, including the BC Premier, is that
00:26:51.580But I think there is no question there has been a 180-degree turn on this in the last 18 months.
00:26:59.160I think we don't forget about the past that happened that led to this moment.
00:27:04.000But we also have to acknowledge that the Prime Minister is working very constructively with our province and others to try to find solutions.
00:27:14.700It was about undoing eight out of the nine bad laws that were impairing our ability to attract investment dollars.
00:27:21.280There's still one other issue that's outstanding that I'm going to work on.
00:27:24.960But I believe that the prime minister is playing the role that the prime minister of this country has always been supposed to play.
00:27:32.060Trade and commerce powers fall under federal jurisdiction for a reason.
00:27:35.160And it's so that if there are disputes between provinces, then they're able to act as a mediator and mitigator and champion to try to make sure that issues get resolved so that both parties are able to get their products to market.
00:27:47.980So, as Premier Yves said, there's some disagreements on rooting and some of the concerns that he's raised.
00:27:56.080But I believe that the Prime Minister, in good faith, is going to work with us to try to find a mutually beneficial arrangement.
00:28:03.320And that is the role the Prime Minister always should have played.
00:28:05.860It's not the role the Prime Minister played when it was Prime Minister Trudeau.
00:28:10.060It's part of the reason why Albertans are as frustrated as they are.
00:28:13.300And part of the reason why I have to demonstrate that through my actions and through the work that I can do with the prime minister, that things have changed.
00:28:21.520And that's important. And when things have changed, we have to acknowledge it.
00:28:25.240Doesn't mean that people still don't have hurt feelings and frustration at the economic harm and pain that has been caused for the past 10 years.
00:28:32.160But we can undo a lot of that by making sure that we're working constructively together.
00:28:36.380And I think we've entered a new era on that, and I'm glad for it.
00:28:38.800uh premier evie um can you just describe the nature of the talks that you had with premier
00:28:45.520smith uh were they tense and what was her response and what were you satisfied with her response uh
00:28:52.700with those conversations that you had with um well uh we uh all the premiers uh spent the day
00:28:59.880together discussing many issues of common interest you can see them outlined in the communique
00:29:04.160And one of the things that I do appreciate about my relationship with Premier Smith is even in the depths of significant disagreement on major priorities, we're still able to come together and have frank and civil conversations.
00:29:19.400You know, I've outlined my very strong belief and our government's very strong position that the tanker ban off the North Coast cannot and should not go anywhere that it is essential to protecting a $2 billion a year economy.
00:29:36.060And it is essential to social license for projects like Solism's LNG that we were just talking about at the beginning of this press conference.
00:29:42.700I outlined my deep concern that British Columbia has not been at the table around discussion of major national policies related to carbon price and methane emissions, given that we are a producer of natural gas and petroleum products in British Columbia as well.
00:29:58.820And I outlined my concerns about the referendum question, and Premier Smith outlined her concerns to me and her priorities for her province.
00:31:38.080Just to say that, yes, we are here to engage with the questions of politics, the questions of economic resources, and then, for me, it was important, before I engage with my colleagues here, to show this sign of respect to the indigenous people here, and then, they engage with me in a cultural way, so for me, it was very important.
00:36:18.460this has to do with the german lng deal um if bc natural gas is good for export then why is delberto
00:36:23.820oil so uh thanks for the question um in the uh north coast uh region where the lng tankers will
00:36:32.780be passing uh from the salism's lng facility uh they're a collection of uh first nations that have
00:36:40.140lived in that area for thousands of years and their culture life economy is dependent on
00:36:50.620the north coast fishing the beaches being able to harvest food that they need and also for
00:37:01.820the economies up there which are not it's not the easiest place to make a living
00:37:05.340uh there have been oil spills nearby uh we had the nathan stewart which is a tug spilled diesel
00:37:14.060destroyed a fishing area off of uh bella bella and then of course the exxon valdez and so
00:37:22.120there's a lot of anxiety in that region about the impact of a catastrophic oil spill and more
00:37:31.220particularly a bitumen spill and the impact that that would have that could not be remediated
00:37:36.160these are incredibly treacherous waters a natural gas leak evaporates into the atmosphere
00:37:43.580a bitumen spill is around forever and so when we are engaging with these nations that have
00:37:51.040rights and title in the area about economic development in the region they say look we're
00:37:55.200game. We're here. We're partners in economic development. Just please do not do work here
00:38:01.040that could catastrophically impair our livelihoods for generations to come. And that means no
00:38:08.520bitumen tankers, no oil tankers in this region. That's why multiple generations of politicians
00:38:13.760from multiple parties have supported the tanker ban in this region. Dangerous waters, fragile
00:38:18.800ecosystems, dependent communities. And that's the difference. That's why we support the expansion of
00:38:26.060the TMX pipeline through the optimization project, why we're working on that with Alberta. And that
00:38:31.700is why at the same time, we say, please do not remove the tanker ban off the North Coast. It is
00:38:37.640not the same thing. And don't feel like it is the same thing, because a lot rides on whether or not
00:38:43.680those nations are supportive, not the least of which is the largest private sector investment
00:38:47.440in Canadian history, LNG Canada phase two, as well as the CILISM's LNG project that I was just telling
00:38:52.240you about earlier. Thank you. Thank you. We have time for one last question. We're going to go to
00:38:56.960the Zoom. We'll be going to National Post, Rahim Mohamed. You should be unmuted and can ask your
00:39:02.400question. I see Premier Evie's just leaving, unfortunately. But so on top of the headline
00:39:09.520question that Premier Smith is asking about Alberta's future in Canada, she's also putting
00:39:15.520forward five constitutional questions to Albertans. A big one is for more provincial
00:39:21.560control over judicial appointments. Abolishing the Senate is another one. I wanted to check
00:39:27.840the temperature and gauge the interest across the room in another round of constitutional
00:39:33.780talks and a potential Western Canada-led fix to the problem parts of the Constitution.
00:39:40.200it it's been much discussed not only at this table from a western canada perspective over the
00:39:52.360you know eight and a half years that i've been a part of this table but also the council of
00:39:56.680federation table as well and it really comes down and not so much to a western versus the rest of
00:40:03.880canada change of the constitution however the focus may be that direction at times
00:40:11.240but to a provincial autonomy and having a respect for the constitution and i think
00:40:17.400you know the federal areas of the constitution and the provincial areas of the constitution and
00:40:21.800i think before we even get into that we can agree on the fact that when we have strong and growing
00:40:28.520and vibrant provinces that are working together unified and having uh to david eby's points of
00:40:34.120frank and civil conversations like you saw here over the last day and a half uh to you know further
00:40:39.400our our opportunities collectively uh ultimately uh the success of those provinces is going to
00:40:45.720very much make for a stronger nation of canada and i would think over time very much a more united
00:40:52.760nation of canada it's that very lack of respect for uh those uh constitutional areas uh that
00:41:00.280provinces have uh the very right under that constitution to govern in and to make decisions
00:41:05.240in development of our natural resources for example that over the last 10 years have largely
00:41:10.200been trampled on by the the former prime minister as i uh jokingly not affectionately jokingly uh
00:41:17.000say he should not be named um that has created many of the differences that uh some areas of
00:41:24.120this nation are managing their way through today and i i spoke of this uh yesterday and i i speak
00:41:30.440of this every day that appears to be changing and not albeit not perfect for in my view i would like
00:41:36.920to see things move quicker faster and go further um however they are changing and they're changing
00:41:44.840significantly and we should take note of that all of us and each of us as individuals we have
00:41:51.000the province of manitoba putting forward an lng pipeline to the uh to as a major project accepted
00:41:57.420by the major projects list um you know to export british columbia and alberta lng to european
00:42:04.180markets very much a conversation that didn't happen around this this table uh even a few years
00:42:10.660ago we see the major projects office an office i would say that is there to find its way through
00:42:17.580what is an unworkable regulatory environment that has been formed over the course of the last 10
00:42:21.620years but a significant a significant policy change by prime minister carney and i think
00:42:27.400one that is appreciated by most if not all of the provinces you see the province of british
00:42:33.400columbia alberta we have an interest in expanding our our energy producing industry in saskatchewan
00:42:39.500in particular on the west side but also in the southern part of our province and accessing some
00:42:44.000of that additional egress capacity and we'll we'll find a route we've done this before we just built a
00:42:48.940line to the west coast a number of years ago and we will do it as Canadians by talking to one
00:42:54.740another and consulting with one another throughout that that process you've seen Prime Minister Carney
00:43:00.300greatly elevate Canada's credibility in the global sphere in the global trade environment
00:43:05.740I've seen that firsthand as I've been on a number of missions with them to other countries that are very important to the, not only the Saskatchewan economy and all of our provincial economies, but more broadly, the economy of our nation of Canada.
00:43:20.780And so you see significant changes, albeit admittedly, you know, not perfect.
00:43:27.140But there is certainly an approach and a collaborative approach from the Prime Minister that I know that we can work with.
00:43:33.000And we won't get our way each and every time, nor will Premier Canoe, nor will Premier Smith, Premier Abbey, Premiers from our territories.
00:46:31.840So, Premier Mo, what I'm hearing from you is a big part of what's changed is you have a prime minister in Ottawa who's more respectful of provincial autonomy than the last guy.
00:46:42.480But should the provinces have to rely on the benevolence of Ottawa? And if not, would it be worth changing the Constitution to write in things like an opt-out clause for provinces from federal programs, to write in a statement of privacy, a privacy of provincial law in areas of shared jurisdictions, both of which are questions being put to Albertans right now in that province's referendum?
00:47:05.860uh challenges and this i guess i got away from this in the uh in my last answer but one of the
00:47:14.500challenges is it's not easy to change the constitution um we've changed it once on an
00:47:19.140item to do with taxation on uh in in the railway system in saskatchewan um i've openly tried to
00:47:26.900change it a number of other times as well uh in some of the themes that uh you have spoken about
00:47:32.500over the course of the last 10 years when we were having you know unconsulted policies
00:47:36.900from saskatchewan's perspective and the industries that are employing saskatchewan's people's
00:47:40.900perspective that were harmful uh to families and to communities in in our province and that
00:47:46.260that feeling was very real and so i have had conversations at west at the western premier's
00:47:50.740conference in years gone by and the council of federation conference in years gone by about
00:47:56.020putting forward motions in that theme to actually change the con the the constitution um
00:48:02.500That was the only way that we saw as possible to get the changes that we needed with the current leadership that we have.