CALGARY — Janetta McKenzie, director of the oil and gas program at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to announced changes to Alberta’s oil royalty regime:
“Albertans own the oil under the ground, and this new royalty system will return even less of the oil’s value to Albertans and even more to corporate shareholders. At a time when families are enduring an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, many will ask why even more of their tax dollars are to be gifted to oil corporations that are enjoying historic profits.
“Alberta taxpayers are already footing the bill for large investment tax credits, a $43-billion pipeline that private investors wouldn’t touch, tens of thousands of inactive and unsecured wells, and hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid municipal taxes from the energy sector. Now taxpayers are being asked to further subsidize the oil industry to fill another taxpayer-subsidized pipeline.
“The provincial government has not presented any evidence that indicates the existing royalty system is an obstacle to investment in the oil sands or in conventional production. At a time when the industry is amassing billions in windfall profit due to the conflict in the Middle East, the private sector is absolutely capable of financing production expansion if they believed in sustained long-term oil demand.”
Contact
Benjamin Alldritt
Senior Communications Lead Oil & Gas, Pembina Institute
587-328-1955
