Royalty regime dogs Alberta Tories in legislature

Last Updated: Monday, November 5, 2007 | 5:12 PM MT

CBC News

Opposition leaders hammered the Alberta government over the province's royalties in a lively opening session, as MLAs returned to work Monday for the fall sitting.

The legislature will try to debate 26 bills during the month-long session, but royalties took centre stage on the opening day despite the fact no legislation is being introduced on that issue.

Liberal Leader Kevin Taft hammered the premier over royalties in the legislature Monday.
(CBC)

Armed with the auditor general's report from October, Liberal Leader Kevin Taft asked Ed Stelmach five separate times, "How long has the premier known that Albertans have not been getting their fair share?"

The premier rose in the legislature each time and reminded Taft of how oil and gas revenue has helped the province prosper and pay off its debt.

"There's missing billions, $22 billion missing in debt. That's missing, that's gone, that's paid off. Billions of dollars invested in infrastructure," Stelmach said.

"They [the Liberals] seem to be the doomsayers of yesterday, but I'm looking to the future."

"We have seen a demonstration of evasiveness seldom seen in this legislature," Taft shot back.

Last month, Auditor General Fred Dunn said the Tory government knew at least three years ago that it was losing royalties from energy projects in the province.

In October, Alberta increased fees charged to energy companies by $1.4 billion per year.
(CBC)

He slammed former energy ministers and their staff for identifying, but not collecting, about $1 billion per year in fees owed by oil and gas companies.

In light of those findings, the NDP hounded the Tories Monday over why the current energy minister was unaware of what his predecessors knew about the province's royalties.

"What I'm saying is there is not billions of dollars missing any place," Energy Minister Mel Knight said. "There is no requirement for me to get a briefing from any previous energy minister in respect to the royalty structure."

NDP leads emergency debate in legislature

In October, Stelmach increased the rates energy companies pay for the right to develop Alberta's resources by about $1.4 billion per year, despite pushback from the industry.

In an unusual development Monday afternoon, MLAs voted to pass an NDP motion to hold an emergency debate on royalties and postpone scheduled private members' business. The debate is itself inconsequential but allows arguments to be part of the official legislative record.

The sniping is expected to continue this week over Bill 46, which would split the province's energy regulator into two bodies and change the way public hearings are set up. Landowners are worried it will restrict public input into the development of new power lines.

Bills to ban smoking in most public places and to allow red light cameras to catch speeders are also expected to make waves.