Quebec Premier François Legault irked Alberta’s premier by calling the province’s oil ‘dirty’ last week. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press) It’s been open season on the Quebec government since it was revealed the province will be getting a $1.4-billion boost in its equalization payment next year. Western politicians, in particular, have cried foul. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called Quebec’s allotment "problematic" in an interview with The Globe and Mail. Alberta’s finance minister, Joe Ceci, said it was proof the equalization program "doesn’t work." The equalization numbers, released Sunday, compounded existing ire in the West at comments Premier François Legault made last week. First, he extinguished the flicker of hope that a defunct cross-Canada pipeline project, Energy East, could be revived. Then he boasted Quebec’s hydroelectricity was "clean energy" compared Alberta’s "dirty oil." Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who is heading into an election amid tumbling oil prices, did not appreciate Legault’s choice of adjective. "He needs to get off his high horse," Notley said Tuesday. "He needs to understand not only is our product not dirty, but it actually funds the schools, the hospitals, the roads and potentially some of the hydroelectricity infrastructure in Quebec." At a first ministers meeting in Montreal […]
