SEPOY.net
No Result
View All Result
Monday, June 16, 2025
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • Economy
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • Economy
  • Crypto
  • Travel
No Result
View All Result
SEPOY.NET
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Oil well cleanup program listed as ‘key objective’ in Alberta’s pre-election budget

Nicholas by Nicholas
March 1, 2023
in Business
0
Oil well cleanup program listed as ‘key objective’ in Alberta’s pre-election budget

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s last budget before an expected spring election gives strong support to a proposed tax break for energy companies to fulfill their legal cleanup duties but doesn’t tell voters how much would be spent on it.

READ ALSO

Regulators push to speed up Air India dreamliner crash payments from insurers

CFC confirms new chief underwriting officer

The budget, tabled in the legislature Tuesday, lists “liability management” as a key priority for both Alberta Energy and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. That phrase is how the United Conservative Party government now refers to a widely criticized proposal previously called RStar.

The program is listed as Alberta Energy’s second priority. It commits the department to “collaborate with other ministries … to maintain and strengthen a balanced, responsible approach to managing the impacts of resource development activities, including the ongoing implementation of liability management activities.”

The environment department is to “address reclamation and remediation responsibilities through effective liability management.”

But Tuesday’s budget sets no money aside for the program.

Finance Minister Travis Toews said that’s because RStar is still a plan.

“You’re not seeing an Alberta Pension Plan in this budget and you’re not seeing a definitive Alberta Police Force in this budget and you’re not seeing an RStar program in this budget because none of those policies have been approved,” he said Tuesday. “We are reaching out on all of those things and consulting with Albertans.”

Finance officials said Tuesday that RStar, if approved, could be funded through the government’s contingency funds without having to show up in a budget.

Still, support for the program within the government is strong. One of the idea’s originators now works in Premier Danielle Smith’s Calgary office.

Smith, who pushed RStar as a business lobbyist before taking over as party leader, boosted it again Saturday on her radio phone-in program. On that show, Smith even mused about extending a similar program to cover municipal environmental liabilities in Medicine Hat, Calmar and Calgary.

“We need a program to incentivize cleaning those up, too,” she said on Your Province, Your Premier.

NDP Opposition energy critic Kathleen Ganley said the government has an obligation to come clean on the costs of a program it has every intention of implementing.

“They committed as recently as today (Tuesday) in question period that this program is going forward,” she said. “We have a complete lack of transparency.

“They don’t want to put numbers before Albertans. They’ve left it out in the hopes they won’t have to answer questions on this program before they go to an election.”

A $100-million pilot program has been proposed through Alberta Energy and meetings held with stakeholders. The department now says any decision won’t come until the fall, months after Albertans vote.

RStar would give companies royalty credits to apply against new oil production for cleaning up old well sites, something they are already legally obliged to do. Those credits could also be traded or sold, giving old and idle wells a potential value they wouldn’t have without the break from taxpayers.

Critics say it rewards companies that don’t live up to their obligations and penalizes those who do. They say it violates the polluter-pay principle, especially egregious when energy companies are making record profits.

It has been widely opposed by economists, rural municipalities, financial analysts, provincial bureaucrats and former members of Smith’s own party.

 

Feature image by iStock.com/jewhyte


Related Posts

Regulators push to speed up Air India dreamliner crash payments from insurers
Business

Regulators push to speed up Air India dreamliner crash payments from insurers

June 16, 2025
CFC confirms new chief underwriting officer
Business

CFC confirms new chief underwriting officer

June 16, 2025
Aviva Canada announces interim CEO 
Business

Aviva Canada announces interim CEO 

June 13, 2025
Wildfires are highlighting insurance-to-value issues
Business

Wildfires are highlighting insurance-to-value issues

June 13, 2025
Steve Masnyk to leave CAMGA, search on for next chief executive
Business

Steve Masnyk to leave CAMGA, search on for next chief executive

June 13, 2025
WTW says innovation starts with culture and strong leadership
Business

WTW says innovation starts with culture and strong leadership

June 13, 2025
Next Post
Founders received 250,000 euros – start-up from “Lion’s Den” files for bankruptcy

Founders received 250,000 euros - start-up from "Lion's Den" files for bankruptcy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About

Sepoy.net is a perfect place for people who want daily updates on news related to business, technology, entertainment, health, cryptocurrency etc.

Contact: hello@sepoy.net

Major Categories

News

Business

Tech

Economy

 

Recent Posts

  • 10 Greatest Gaming Sites United casino thunderstruck 2 states of america: Best On line Sportsbooks 2025
  • Giros dado sobre cassinos online: 10 melhores sites uma vez que ofertas
  • All american Electronic poker Games On the internet Demo Play for 100 percent free

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 Sepoy.net

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • News
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel

© 2023 Sepoy.net