From well cleanups to Sovereignty Act, Danielle Smith's big ideas keep deflating

For some time there, Premier Danielle Smith had been a big believer in RStar, a program that would hand oil and gas companies financial incentives to clean up the inactive wells, which was already their legal requirement.

She wrote glowingly about it. She lobbied other politicians about it.

She campaigned on it. She hired Kris Kinnear, the program's chief advocate, as a "special project manager" in her premier's office, and another big booster, MLA Peter Guthrie, as her energy minister.

Then, almost as quickly as the government confidently released the outline of such an incentive scheme in early February, Smith hit the dimmer switch on her twinkly, twinkly little star initiative.

In a statement this week, the premier stressed that consultations on the $100-million program will take "several months to complete," and cabinet would decide "whether or how" (emphasis mine) to proceed with the idea.

This keeps the program in limbo until at least the fall, according to the Globe and Mail.

The program was rejected by the United Conservative Party government when Jason Kenney was premier and Smith was a lobbyist — but it seemed inevitable this new premier would champion it into existence. 

Then came torrents of criticism from everyone from the Alberta NDP and environmentalists to the unlikely critics at Scotiabank, who similarly despaired trampling over the "polluter pays" principle of well remediation.

And now, with the election coming, it's banished to the isle of long-term consultations. Smith's team may have no desire to keep discussing the program Alberta Energy has rebranded the Liability Management Incentive Program.

(Is this how it's done now? If you want to take the steam off a too-hot government program, give it a more boring name? RStar becomes Liability Management Incentive Program, Just Transition becomes the Sustainable Jobs Plan? What happens when controversy washes over, let's say, Travel Alberta?)

Similarly, the Smith government gave its Sovereignty Act the decidedly less spicy name Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, in hopes of defusing criticism. And while it was the centrepiece of Smith's UCP leadership campaign, and her much-hyped Bill 1 last fall, the premier has in 2023 ceased to say much about it, or express interest in ever, ever using this legislative dynamite against the federal government. 

Smith has been up-front about her fondness for the political trial balloon, the idea of launching various ideas into the sky and not being too proud to watch others blow them onto a new course or deflate them entirely.

However, Smith's campaign for premier only articulated a limited number of specific major policy ideas.

Fire the Alberta Health Services board — that was straightforward enough. Sovereignty Act — a bumpy ride that seems to have landed off the map. RStar — see above.