Post by Admin on Sept 21, 2015 1:14:13 GMT
Sept. 18, 2015
It was Fort McMurray’s turn to share their thoughts to Alberta’s royalty review panel. But after spending the day meeting business and aboriginal leaders for feedback, the panel was greeted by a skeptical crowd of nearly 50 people during an open house at Keyano College.
A public presentation and forum was hosted by two of the four panelists - ATB Financial CEO Dave Mowat and Beaverlodge mayor Leona Hanson - and their aides on Thursday evening, following a luncheon with the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce.
The staff arrived at the college wearing "I (Love) Oil Sands" buttons from Canada Action, which had been gifted to them earlier that day. But the pro-oil flair and the panel's slick powerpoint presentation did little to soothe the fears many in the crowd had.
One man, who did not want to be named, questioned Mowat’s qualifications to lead the panel, pointing out the top banker was personally trained by Al Gore on how to discuss climate change in 2007.
“How can you guarantee you don’t have a bias towards us?” the man asked, calling the former vice-president's climate change comments as “extremist views.”
“We’ve complemented the panel with different attributes,” said Mowat. “It’s the job of the panel to ask the right questions. It’s not my personal views that are coming into this.”
Darren Lane followed that question by asking Mowat to remember the thousands of individuals who have lost their jobs since oil prices crashed last year, reminding him the results of the panel could make it harder to find work.
But most people questioned the review’s purpose and timing. Several people said they feared the review added uncertainty into an already volatile economy, others wondered how much of Alberta’s current problems could be blamed by how past governments spent royalties.
The panel, led by Dave Mowat, CEO of ATB Financial, has been meeting representatives from the energy sector and energy-related industries, as well as regular Albertans and key stakeholders, through a combination of meetings, public forums and the Internet.
The review is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Regardless of the review’s outcome, there will be no changes to the current structure until the start of 2017, offering some certainty to Alberta’s oil industry.
Mowat said it was not the role of the panel to suggest how governments spend royalties.
But, he said he understood either weakening or raising royalties too far would be disastrous, saying he feared “scaring people away from Alberta, and encouraging a gold rush free-for-all mentality that strains communities and infrastructure.”
“We know the review will play a part in Alberta’s role in the global economy,” said Mowat. “Principles last longer than regulations. We will keep our regulations up to date with technology, but we’ll keep true to our principles.”
The people attending the debate weren’t the only local residents fearful of the panel. Since the panel was announced, Wildrose leader Brian Jean and his MLAs have accused the panel of being a precursor to increased royalties. Mowat denies the panel has been directed to raise royalties.
“I don’t know how they know that because I don’t know that,” he said. “We don’t have any preconceptions, no order to do that. None of us would have taken the job if there were any preconceptions at the start.”
A major factor the panel needs to consider is Alberta’s future in energy politics. In the last few years, fracking and offshore drilling in the United States has been increasing, shifting the country away from its status as Alberta’s biggest customer to its biggest competitor. Other geopolitical factors in Russia and OPEC states also have to be considered.
“What strategic considerations do we need to look at to be on top of our game? We could end up designing a royalty system that was perfect for yesteryear,” said Mowat. “The U.S. is going to be self-sufficient. Whatever we design has to make us strategic going forward.”
But are there any options the panel will not consider?
“Not that we’ve come up against so far.”
vincent.mcdermott@sunmedia.ca