Well, no, but that’s how Ed Stelmach spins it whenever anyone else makes this suggestion:

CALGARY – The Alberta Conservatives will not decide for months on a request from several major oilsands companies to halt development leases in three huge and environmentally sensitive swaths of the oilsands region, Conservative Leader Ed Stelmach said today.

The request threatens to pit Stelmach’s commitment to environmental protection against his campaign mantra of not “touching the brake” on energy development, although he repeatedly dodged that question as the final week of campaigning towards next Monday’s election began.

Industry giants including Petro-Canada, Imperial Oil, Husky Energy and Suncor Energy support the request for protected conservation areas in a January letter to the Alberta government by the Cumulative Environmental Management Association. The letter asks that the government not sell oilsands leases in the three areas until at least 2011.