Article content

When Justin Trudeau heads to Alberta later this week, he’d better be armed with more than the advice he offered to Danny Strilchuk, the Edmonton oil field worker who was one of 10 “ordinary” Canadians who grilled the prime minister in face-to-face interviews Sunday on CBC.

When asked what counsel he would offer to workers like Danny, who are “scared and concerned about the future,” Trudeau urged him to “hang in there.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: Trudeau extending EI benefits would help Albertans more than advice to ‘hang in there’ Back to video

The prime minister said the rest of the country will “be there” for the resource dependent provinces.

“How does that look?” asked Danny, with a healthy dollop of scepticism.

Trudeau didn’t have much of a response, beyond vague promises about future diversification, infrastructure spending and a more consultative regulatory regime.

“But a lot of people need help and assistance right now,” said Danny, who looked as if he could tell a hawk from a heron, not to mention sympathetic blather from a genuine solution.