[Bootsy]

Originally Posted by belsarius

I would challenge this part if you would bear with me, agree or not with the policies.

The NDP were elected on a platform that included an aggressive climate policy with a carbon tax. They have used this carbon tax as a key point when negotiating with other jurisdictions. In Paris it was used to demonstrate how Alberta was using it as a way to transition out of fossil fuel dependence and it was used when negotiating with other Provinces to get support for pipelines like Energy East.

This ability to get out of PPAs would have been known but the choice was to opt out of implementing the carbon tax and being a fool for how much they promoted it and alienating their base or risk the PPA's clause being triggered. Doesn't seem like it left them much of a choice.

Now they can fight the clause before it is triggered and appear to be frivolously spending money on a court fight that wasn't required or they could wait and see what the industry did.

By choosing to wait they have given a reason for the fight, they have an excuse in corporate greed to fight behind and have support from their base of voters to go ahead with it.

They were always going to implement the carbon tax, their whole government mandate depended on it, getting pipelines built depended on it, building a different opinion of Alberta in the world depended on it. But it cost a risk of the PPA clause being triggered. Which they probably anticipated and were ready for the court challenge months ago.

In some ways it might appear clumsy, but I think it was a deft move that they were forced into by their policy. Agree with the policy or don't but in order to go forward with it this situation was a forgone conclusion. Not blind ideological moves, but a mandated move that was required for their entire government plan to move forward.



TL/DR - The were always doing the carbon tax. The knew the PPA clause would be triggered and this was the inevitable result. The only option was not carbon tax and risk alienating your voting base and every other group (including oil industry leaders) that they have been using this to negotiate with.

I don't remember a carbon tax on their election platform