The Alberta government is not putting up with protesters holding up developments.

Premier Jason Kenney says the rail blockades over the last few weeks added to the uncertainty that led Teck resources to pull the plug on its Frontier Mine development.

"There is absolutely no doubt, that this decision was taken in large part because of regulatory uncertainty, endless delays created by the national government, as well as the general atmosphere of lawlessness that we have seen take hold in certain parts of our country and much of our economic infrastructure in the last three week," Kenney says.

He says Bill One, to be introduced after the Throne Speech will create new stiff penalties for anyone who riots on or seeks to impair critical economic infrastructure including railways in Alberta.

Kenney says the Provincial government is ready to step in if needed to get projects back on track.

"Like the government of the late Premier Lougheed, Alberta is prepared to invest directly and support companies and indigenous groups when necessary to assure the future of responsible resource development and we rule nothing out in the regard," he says.

The statement from Teck outlining their reasons for shutting down the projected pointed to a lock of climate policy which Kenney scoffed at.

Kenney says over dozens of meetings with Teck, they never raised Alberta's emissions policy with the government.

He took to task investors who claim Alberta's resources are dirty but are willing to get behind Saudi or Russia resource projects.

"I don't see capital leaving oil and gas, I have seen capital leaving the Alberta oil sands, why, because we have been held to a double standard," Kenney says.

He says companies are willing to commit capital to the worst performing companies rather than the best, because they know politics won't come back to bite them in those countries.

 

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