Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
The point isn't whether things go back up again, the point is that the province needs to shield itself economically from the bust periods.
If a steadier economy means slowing the extraction of resources (through any number of means), then so be it.
Slow, deliberate expansion of resource extraction is in the best interest of all Albertans, and Canadians. Peter Lougheed knew this to be true.
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We already saw signs of that before oil prices tanked. Companies shelved major projects and began to examine a staged growth strategy with incremental expansions. People also forget the sustaining capital is still a massive chunk of money that will be spent annually regardless of the broader health of the industry.
The percentage of the economy that is O&G is less than it was 30 years ago during the dark ages. Slowing the extraction sector unnecessarily is both foolish and counter productive. Things aren't going to get back to the 2004-2008 boom again, they didn't after the recession and they won't again after this one.