|
|
Go Ed, Go!
We’re hoping Ed Stelmach gets it right.
While so-called “Big Oil’’ says new royalty proposals will cut the heart out of their business, most ordinary Albertans say a price increase is long overdue.
We said the same thing to Premier Ed, back when he was campaigning for the leadership. We said the royalty deal that allows an oilsand plant to be built for free was wrong. Oilsands plants pay just one per cent royalty to Albertans until the plant construction cost is covered. Basically, a free plant.
We said building every upgrader just outside of Edmonton was wrong. High Prairie, or Enilda, or Gilwood or Peavine is a good place for a billion dollar plant. Why do they all have to be around Edmonton?
We said sending oil south to be refined was wrong. There’s lots of jobs just in refining. Not to mention, huge tax dollars on the physical plant. Why send our oil to St. Louis, or Houston, or Lousiana?
We don’t know if Ed listened. But, we tried. Many other Albertans have sent the same message.
To Premier Ed’s credit, he followed through on his campaign promise to investigate royalties.
Now, the report is in. To his credit again, he released the report promptly, without massaging it. Now, he has promised action in a few weeks.
In Alberta politics, we haven’t seen such guts since the days of Peter Lougheed.
So the next Act?
Implement the royalty review in full. We’re betting the numbers are low. Albertan’s could do much better. But, this is a good start for citizens to get their fair share.
After all is said and done, let’s leave you, not with facts, but with anecdotal evidence.
Wages are through the roof. But so are costs. No matter how much one makes, it’s never enough to buy a house or get a car fixed.
These days, most of Alberta industry is finding it hard, if not impossible to compete with wages paid in construction. Construction wages are through the roof because of oil sands wages.
Time was, the oil patch was Alberta’s leader in wages. Everybody else tried to keep up. Today? The conventional patch, that means people who drill for regular oil and gas, the companies who service those rigs, the trucks and mud companies and everybody else in the business, are all having a hard time competing with construction and oil sands wages. Man, when the patch can’t keep up, what kind of stupid hole have we dug ourselves?
This economy needs correcting.
Hiking royalties, put the money in the bank....which really means invest in New York, Hong Kong or London and thus the world, which all takes money out of the local system, is a darn good place to start.
Sign the new rules in Ed.
Jeff Burgar
Regional
Copyright © 1999-2005 South Peace News. All Rights Reserved.
No part may be reproduced without written permission.
View our Privacy Statement.
Send website suggestions to the Webmaster
|
|
