Notley gets quiet reception from Chamber of Commerce; Wildrose calls speech ‘ho-hum’

For the first time since taking the premier’s office, Rachel Notley addressed the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Friday, but didn’t receive the type of reception the crowd often gives.

Speaking to a crowd of over 1,500, Notley opted to reiterate much of the message she pushed during her recent economic mission instead of giving more specific details and plans to the audience, as the budget will be tabled October 27th.

She used the occasion to reassure Alberta businesses that the province is open for business as it goes through economic downturn and discussed the importance of job creation, high environmental standards and the importance of the royalty review.

Notley got brief moments of applause, one time stating there would be no sales tax and again discussing the Toronto Blue Jays.

Speaking to reporters, she said she’s learned in politics that sometimes you have to deliver the same message multiple times for people to take notice.

“I don’t think you need to come up with new stuff just to say new stuff,” she said. “If your point is to say listen, Alberta is a place that we believe, where the government needs to encourage and be welcoming to investment, where the government needs to be a good partner with job creators, where we are very aware of the slump in the economy and that our job is to play that shock absorber role and to work collaboratively with business and job creators, well that’s a message that is worth repeating.”

Following her address in the question and answer period, Notley even commented that the crowd was quiet and she was asked if she took any offence to it.

“Not at all,” she said. “I didn’t actually perceive that the crowd was cold in any way; I think people were listening.”

“I know and I have heard from a number of different leaders in Calgary that people in Calgary want to hear what our government has to say on some of these key issues and as a result. They had an uncharacteristically large attendance at this lunch, because people really just want to hear what we have to say.”

While she says she was pleased with the opportunity to be able to speak in front of the large crowd, the chamber’s president and CEO, Adam Legge, told 660 NEWS there could’ve been more substance.

“I think people are noisy when there’s something to rally behind and I just don’t think that there was enough in the premier’s remarks today for anybody in the Calgary business community to rally behind,” he said.

“There’s still too much uncertainty and quite honestly, people are still reserving judgement on what they think the future of the province and the current government can do in terms of being an effective steward of our provincial economy.”

Wildrose Shadow Minister of Finance Derek Fildebrandt said this was an opportunity to address real concerns of business leaders, but it was missed.

“We didn’t hear much new from the premier today,” he stated. “It was more ho-hum; it was a message trying to tell business owners and job creators to settle down and to be calm that the sky is not falling, but she provided no details around that.”

Fildebrandt also criticized Notley for her comments about the federal election, as she endorsed federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, but discussed being willing to work with whoever wins.

“Whoever wins the election, as premier of Alberta, I intend to pick up our conversation with either Prime Minister Mulcair, Prime Minister Harper or Prime Minister Trudeau in pursuit of Alberta’s interest,” Notley said.

However, Fildebrandt said it was essentially Notley inviting business leaders to vote for Mulcair.

“The premier has to do that, just as the prime minister has to work with whoever the premier is, but it was certainly an endorsement for a potential Prime Minister Mulcair, all we’ve seen from the government over the summer is carrying the water for the federal NDP party,” he said, citing the lack of approval for the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Notley said the government has not had a chance to review the details of the TPP.

“It’s a very wide-ranging agreement, certainly there’s the potential to provide some benefits to some of our markets, but it also has to be viewed within the larger context of what the deal provides.”

“I’m a lawyer and so I’m one of these people that’s a little obsessive about getting the details and I haven’t seen the details.”