Building a new oil pipeline to the west coast of Canada is consistent with the teachings of Jesus, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told a gathering of Christian leaders and organizations from across the province last week.
“We reached a landmark energy agreement with Ottawa that will pave the way for a new pipeline to the west coast,” Smith said during a panel at the May 4 Alberta Christian Leadership Summit, which featured cabinet ministers from her provincial United Conservative Party (UCP) government as well as federal Conservative MPs.
Smith was referencing a Memorandum of Understanding her government signed with Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney last November supporting an oil pipeline through British Columbia along with a $20 billion carbon capture and storage project.
The premier argued that a new pipeline would help meet growing global energy demand. But she also had a message specifically tailored to her Christian audience. “There’s another way to look at it,” she said. “I’m sure you remember the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew — in it, Jesus teaches about stewardship.”
Smith said that particular biblical passage refers to humankind being entrusted with resources that must be managed carefully for the benefit of other people. This “fits with how Albertans feel about the resources that are beneath our feet,” she said.
