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The federal government is said to be so worried about the economic situation in Alberta it is planning a high-level council of politicians and business leaders to address the contracting economy.

But action to counter the mass layoffs and investment pull-back in the oilsands may be hampered by Ottawa’s own plans to combat climate change.

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The measures taken by Rachel Notley’s NDP provincial government are unlikely to be enough to meet the global goal agreed to last weekend at the Paris climate change conference, and further action would add costs to businesses that are already beleaguered by new regulations, a carbon tax and a cap on production.

Senior Liberals in Ottawa say they are extremely concerned about the cascading effects of the recession in Alberta, which cost the province 63,500 jobs in the first eight months of the year — almost as many as were thrown out of work in 2009.

The concern is that a continued low oil price will lead to a sell-off of assets, and multi-national producers moving to lower cost jurisdictions. The Prime Minister’s Office is in the early stages of pulling together municipal and provincial politicians, academics and business leaders to think about how to invigorate that province’s economy.