Sept1

6 S e p t e m b e r 1 ' 1 6 C o r o n a t i o n / S t e t t l e r , A b . E C A r e v i e w
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Published by
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Review
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GUEST EDITORIAL
Drilling increases
across Alberta under
new royalty system
by Margaret McCuaig-Boyd,
Minister of Energy for Alberta
As a rural MLA who lives in a small
northern community I have been surrounded
by the energy industry my
whole life.
I have friends, family and neighbours
who have worked and benefited
from this important sector.
I know these are not easy times for
the energy sector and communities
and families are hurting in many
ways. We cannot control the global
price for our resources but can control
our own actions and policies.
It is with this in mind that we introduced
new changes to our royalty
system that would help our oil
industry prosper.
Dozens of new oil and gas wells are
now being drilled across Alberta, creating
jobs in rural communities and
regional centres, after our government
made a decision to open up our new
royalty system early.
Since we started reviewing our royalty
system I have said we would listen
to industry and there would be no
surprises.
We pledged to create a royalty
system would work for all of us; to
create the fair returns Albertans want
while allowing companies to remain
competitive and to create jobs.
I believe we have accomplished that
goal and this summer wells in Alberta
have started drilling under our new
modernized royalty framework.
The first ones began drilling in mid-
August in Grande Prairie County and
others are moving towards operation
in several other parts of the province.
Our new framework is not scheduled
to take effect until next year, but when
industry told us they were willing to
increase their investments in Alberta
this year if they could access the new
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East Central Alberta
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system — we responded.
These new wells represent investment
in our province beyond what was
originally planned for 2016.
I was pleased to tour an Encana rig
on August 17 and meet crew members
from across Alberta working there.
Each operating drilling rig can create
135 direct and in-direct jobs according
to figures from the Canadian Oilwell
Drilling Contractors Association.
I was joined on the tour by a representative
from the Canadian
Association of Petroleum Producers
(CAPP) who said our new royalty
framework will help industry stay
competitive.
“The modernized royalty framework
is a long-term solution that promotes a
stable investment environment for continued
growth in the sector. It is both
flexible to short term market conditions
and for long term planning.
When Alberta’s oil and natural gas
industry is healthy and can compete –
that’s good for Alberta’s economy,
that’s good for government revenues
and that’s good for Alberta families,
said Brad Herald, VP Western Canada
Operations with CAPP.
Our government will continue to
advocate for sustainable and environmentally
responsible energy
development in our province.
We are demonstrating to the business
community and the world beyond
our borders that Alberta is open for
energy investment and we are a
responsible and competitive energy
supplier.
With this kind of positive initial
response to our early opt-in for the new
framework, I’m confident we will continue
to see activity in 2017, helping
bring jobs and opportunities to communities
across Alberta, big and
small.
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MAIL BAG
CAO and council are
simply being unreasonable
Dear Editor:
The Morrin Council report was very
well done. I have had comments from
residents how you hit the nail on the
head showing how petty and unreasonable
the CAO and Council are by
not providing free copies of the agenda
and the previous months minutes for
the residents attending council
meetings.
I checked at a retail store and found
a box of paper is just over $30 for 5000
sheets making the cost per page .0061
cents.
I would think that the CAO likely
purchases paper at a better rate than
the retail price I found.
The CAO and council are simply
being unreasonable in not taking one
second to touch the nine button instead
of the four button on the photocopy
machine so that we all could receive a
copy of the agenda and minutes to
follow along with the meeting.
The cost to us as residents and ratepayers
who attended the meeting
would be nine cents.
Gayle Jaraway
MARKETING 403-578-4111
advertise@ECAreview.com
Joyce Webster
Publisher/Editor
publisher@ECAreview.com
By doing this it would provide all
five people in the gallery at the last
meeting in July a copy of the agenda
and the two pages of the previous
months unapproved minutes. This
would go a long way in showing us that
we count and that we matter.
The CAO and council’s original
policy that charged $55 for the first
page and a $1 for every page after that
has since been rescinded because of a
backlash from residents.
Also refusing to allow the recording
of the minutes so that accurate
reporting could be done demonstrates
that council and the CAO for some
reason don’t want any outside scrutiny
or interference with council meetings.
When this council and CAO start to
realize how petty their actions appear
to outsiders, perhaps they will begin to
try and help us be a part of the process
instead of continually putting up
unreasonable road blocks for residents
to participate in the political process.
John Siemens
Morrin, Ab.
The NDP wants you to pay for its attack ads
by Paige MacPherson,
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
When you walk outside and your
mailbox is stuffed with glossy,
annoying, partisan junk mail, you
know it’s election season. Like most
Canadians, you probably roll your eyes
and think: what a waste of paper and
money. Alberta’s NDP government
now wants you to be the one to waste
that money.
Those nasty, silly attack ads that
clutter your airwaves? They want you
to pay for them, too.
On a sleepy, summer day in the legislature,
NDP MLA Rod Loyola proposed
a motion in committee to have taxpayers
rebate 50 per cent of campaign
expenses for political parties and candidates
that receive at least 10 per cent
of the vote.
Loyola told Rob Breakenridge on
Newstalk 770 that caucus supports the
idea, meaning with the NDP majority,
it’s more or less a done deal.
It’s bad policy. Taxpayers shouldn’t
be forced to pay for partisan
campaigning.
It raises an obvious conundrum: by
reimbursing politicians for 50 per cent
of the money they spend, we’d be incentivizing
them to spend more – thereby
VIEWPOINT
costing taxpayers more.
The NDP government has suggested
a solution: capping party spending. But
if individuals choose to donate their
money to a party (not businesses or
unions, because those donations were
already banned), with the intention of
having that party spend it campaigning,
then why should the
government interfere? That’s democracy
in action, and it’s totally
voluntary.
Spending caps are an attempted solution
to a problem created by forcing
taxpayers to subsidize entrenched
political parties. Here’s a crazy idea:
don’t create the problem in the first
place.
A subsidy to political parties is a particularly
jaw-dropping suggestion
when the province is facing a $14 billion
deficit and over 100,000 Albertans
have been laid off. Calgary businesses
are dropping like flies; Alberta’s unemployment
rate is now higher than Nova
Scotia’s; and the province’s credit
rating has been repeatedly
downgraded.
Yet the priority of the government is
to stuff the coffers of political parties?
Turn to Level, Pg 12
Elaine Nielsen
MARKETING 403-854-4560
contact@ECAreview.com
Yvonne Thulien
Manager
admin@ECAreview.com
Lisa Myers-sortland
Graphic Artist
Dena Clark
Reporter/Photographer
news1@ecareview.com
Bonny Williams
Circ./Office
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