Royalty review panel draws local response
So- called “ordinary Albertans” packed a downtown room on Monday evening to share their thoughts at a royalty review open house as the NDP government studies — and potentially overhauls — Alberta’s energy royalty scheme.
Armed with black permanent markers, attendees passionately scribbled their thoughts on poster paper as Alberta’s contentious royalty review advisory panel made its first and only “community engagement” stop in Calgary.
“Don’t screw up my job and my livelihood and my major investment,” one attendee wrote on poster paper that bordered a busy room at the Telus Convention Centre.
Other attendees used the poster paper, and a question- and- answer session to, inquire about the timing of the royalty review.
A pledge to review Alberta’s energy royalty structure was a campaign cornerstone of the NDP during the spring provincial election, despite concerns about the review in the oilpatch, and it formally launched in August following the NDP victory in the May provincial election.
“Why are we doing this now in an economic struggle? We need Albertans back on their feet and a strong economy again,” another attendee wrote on the poster paper.
“Just stop the NDP madness. Make us a competitive force,” wrote another.
Dave Mowat, chairman of the provincial royalty review advisory panel, welcomed the anonymous feedback and told reporters it was understandable that open house attendees brought with them strong opinions on the future of Alberta’s royalty framework for non- renewable resources.
“There’s people that have lost their jobs. It’s a difficult time for the province for sure ... What we’re trying to do is make this better for Alberta,” said Mowat, who is also president and CEO of ATB Financial.
“I know there’s emotion in this subject right now and I don’t blame anybody for that at all.”
The packed Calgary “community engagement session,” which followed open houses in Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray in September, was an opportunity for Calgarians to have their say as the government examines the rates it charges companies for developing energy resources.
“There’s a very technical part to this review but what I feel really important is to talk to ordinary Albertans,” Mowat said.
The public engagement comes as a drop in crude prices continues to batter the oilpatch and spur thousands of layoffs — more than 14,000 across the province this year, according to the most recent statistics.
Royalty reviews have been a hot- button issue in Alberta politics since former Progressive Conservative premier Ed Stelmach revamped the royalty regime in 2007, prompting a huge backlash from the industry.
For years, the NDP accused the Tory government of selling off the province’s energy resources at discount rates and in the spring election, the NDP said a review was needed to ensure Albertans received the “full and fair value” from royalties and to promote resource processing in the province.
Peter Fischer, a retired business man, said he attended Monday’s open house to get answers.
“I want to find out why for the last 30 years, say since ( Premier Peter) Lougheed’s departure, we’re not getting our fair share of the revenues,” he said.
Many who attended Monday evening’s open house questioned why a review was needed, and Mowat told the audience the world is completely different than it was during the last review.
“The industry has changed dramatically, even if you look at the last three or four years,” Mowat said.
“It really behooves us as Alberta to have a strategic look at this, and position ourselves to be on top of our game for the next decade.”
The panel’s mandate is to make sure Albertans are getting their fair share of oil and natural gas resources and it will also study if there are benefits to refining more oil locally rather than sending it via pipelines or trains across provincial or federal borders for processing.
Energy economist Peter Tertzakian, former deputy minister of finance Annette Trimbee and Beaverlodge Mayor Leona Hanson join Mowat on the panel.
While the panel will file a preliminary report to the energy minister by the end of the year, the minister has pledged that no changes to the current royalty structure will be made until the end of 2016 to help provide stability to the oilpatch.