Alberta royalty review panel chair assures open process
About 300 people came out to hear from Alberta's royalty review panel at an open house at the Telus Convention Centre, in downtown Calgary, Monday night.
It was a chance for the public to learn more about the existing royalty framework and to express concerns as the panel moves closer to delivering its final report to the provincial government at the end of the year.
Mike Nelson works for a drilling company and says he just wants to know what his future might be, because right now it doesn't look good.
"They've got to do something that will entice business to want to stay right?" said Nelson. "And if we can't get investment in this province then we are closing doors and we might as well fold 'er up and go home."
Many people lined up for a chance to scribble down their thoughts about the review on poster paper placed around the room. And their comments reflected passion and emotion:
- "I truly believe that your approach is fundamentally flawed."
- "The increase of royalty fees will result in cutting more projects, cutting more jobs ... (resulting in) less royalty fees."
- "Want to see the right thing done."
- "Don't succumb to pressure for one-offs to appease an individual producer."
The comments didn't come as a surprise to panel chair Dave Mowat, who is also the CEO of ATB Financial.
"You can't really blame them. There's people that have lost their jobs. It's a difficult time for the province, for sure," he said.
"What we are trying to do is make this better for Albertans."
This was the third of four public meetings. The first two were held in Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray in mid-September. And so far, some themes are emerging, Mowat says.
There's a definite concern for the environment, people are looking for a system that's both fair to Albertans and to investors, and they want to know how Alberta's rates compare to other jurisdictions, he says..
Retiree Peter Fischer recently returned from a trip to Norway, one of the places often envied by Albertans for its $1-trillion nest egg from oil and gas reserves. Alberta either needs to boost its royalty rate or alter the way the rate is being calculated, he says.
"I just as soon see the keepers of the land and the resources being rewarded rather than just top executives and shareholders even though I own or, my wife owns oil shares," Fischer said.
Mowat says he wants to reassure people there is nothing secretive about the review.
No 'grand reveal'
"We will tell you exactly what we are doing, how we are going to do it, when we are going to do it, and I think that's really important, because this is important for Albertans and they should know what the process is," he said.
"So we're not going to be doing a grand reveal at some point, we'll be talking to people throughout."
Mowat's panel includes Peter Tertzakian, an energy economist, Annette Trimbee, a former deputy minister of finance and Leona Hanson, the mayor of Beaverlodge.
Regardless of what the panel recommends in its report in December, the government has said there will be no changes in the current royalty rates before 2017, a move designed to give some certainty to the industry.
The panel will be in Edmonton at MacEwan University's Robbins Health Learning Centre from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
