2018 First Ministers’ Meeting

By Andrew Thomson | December 7, 2018 5:41pmET

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told reporters that Ottawa agreed to review its environmental assessment legislation as part of today’s first ministers’ meeting that included contentious talk on climate change and energy:

“I don’t anyone expects us to agree on everything,” Moe said in Montreal this afternoon. “But we had a productive discussion.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, accused the Trudeau government of wanting his province to now increase its emissions target, to offset shortcomings in other provinces such as Alberta.

Trudeau responded at the closing news conference:

As for the oil-price crisis in western Canada, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley had this to say after the meeting:

Here’s what Trudeau told the room this morning before the doors were closed:

Trudeau defended the federal approach to oil prices while visiting Alberta two weeks ago; the TransMountain pipeline purchase and plans for an accelerated capital cost allowance signified Ottawa’s commitment to the province’s economic backbone.

Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz told a Toronto audience Thursday that the oil-price drop will hurt Canada’s overall economy – but not to the same extent as a similar crisis in 2015. Oil and gas production represented six per cent of the Canadian economy that year, compared to 3.5 per cent in 2018.