EDMONTON -- A former Edmonton Member of Parliament is being sent to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Alberta and a coordinated strategy across the continent for oil and gas. 

James Rajotte chaired the House of Commons finance committee between 2008 and 2015 during a 15-year term as an MP. 

Premier Jason Kenney called Rajotte a phenomenal candidate for the job given his American connections and political experience. 

“Sometimes in the United States, they take Canada and Alberta for granted,” the premier commented, calling the viability of Canadian energy markets a factor the success of those in the U.S. 

“So part of James’ job will be to make sure Keystone XL gets done,” Kenney said, noting construction on the project has started in Canada and its southern neighbour. 

“To continue to communicate on the importance of that, as the US goes through their election cycle. To liaise with governors and regulators along the pipeline route, to work with TC Energy on that project, to help to maintain our growing linkages into the United States department of energy.”

Rajotte will work in an office located at the Canadian embassy in Washington, and receive a biweekly salary of $9,600. 

He starts May 1. 

In a statement, Rajotte said he was honoured by the assignment. 

“More than ever, I see this as an opportunity to advance Alberta’s long-standing relationship with the U.S. to decision makers, both at the national and state level.”

The positioned was left empty by Liam Stone, who returned to Edmonton for a role as assistant deputy minister in the policy coordination office of the executive council.

DOLING OUT OF FEDERAL DOLLARS IN ENERGY SECTOR TO START

Kenney made the appointment announcement on Friday, speaking alongside Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment Minister Jason Nixon on updates for emergency funding allocated to the energy sector. 

Alberta will start handing out $100 mililon in grants next week to oilfield service contractors doing site reclamation work. 

The Site Rehabilitation Program received a $1-billion commitment from the federal government earlier this month and is expected to create 5,300 jobs in the province. 

Successful applicants will see between one quarter and the full cost of the cleanup work covered, depending on the company’s financial standing. 

Some service companies have been too devastated by the pandemic and oil price plummet to do it on their own, Savage said. 

“They don’t have two pennies to rub together to put any contribution forward to clean up their inactive wells, and they’re just going to tip over and tip over those wells into the orphan wells funds.

“So it’s those companies that will need to have 100 per cent of the cost paid for by the program.”

The government will also be tapping into money from Ottawa targeted at reducing methane emissions.

According to Nixon, Alberta is responsible for about two-thirds of on-shore methane emissions in Canada, for which $675 million has been designated in loans by the federal government.  

Although the reclamation and methane reductions programs have touted as a continued commitment to clean energy development, Kenney said Rajotte would not entertain conversations with U.S. politicians on the Green New Deal. 

“We are actually not trying to amplify but fight back against the political agenda of the green left that has been trying to landlock Alberta energy,” he said.

“So no, we’re not going to work with congressmen — the small minority in Congress — that wants to pursue the ideological fantasy of shutting down the modern industrial economy.”

Kenney also announced Alberta would be contributing $67.2 million, and Ottawa $267 million, to a commercial rental assistance program, and implementing a temporary salary top up program for essential workers taking home less than $2,500 per month.