BURST
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked Steven Guilbeault for his contributions to government, with the Liberal MP and former environment minister set to resign from caucus on Wednesday.
Guilbeault is set to resign after the House of Commons rises, with guests invited to attend in the gallery.
A source confirmed that Guilbeault, who was first elected back in 2019 and served in cabinet under former prime minister Justin Trudeau as environment minister, is resigning because of the deal Carney struck with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to pave the way for the construction of a new oil pipeline, as well as the government’s general approach to environmental policies.
Guilbeault quit Carney’s cabinet as the minister responsible for Canadian heritage on the day that the deal with Alberta was signed last November.
Since then, he has been a frequent critic of the government when it comes to the rolling back and relaxing environmental policies that had been put into motion under Trudeau, including the cancelling of the consumer carbon tax and scrapping of the electric vehicle mandate.
Speaking to reporters at a defence industrial conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Carney said in French that he knew Guilbeault leaving the Liberal caucus had been a possibility and that the pair had “candid” discussions on many issues.
He nonetheless thanked Guilbeault for his time as a Liberal MP, with Carney saying he had worked with the former minister before entering politics during his time spent as a special advisor to the United Nations on climate change and finance.
“It’s for him to make decisions about his career,” the prime minister said.
“All aspects of all our careers, even journalists, even prime ministers, get to a point where things change and people make decisions and I very much respect that.”
Carney then offered Guilbeault his best wishes.
More to come …
National Post
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