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puckhog · 01-29-2016, 04:13 PM

To those questioning the outrage from those of us who are generally "against" the NDP (in quotes because I honestly hope they do a good job, even if I don't agree with their positions), my feeling out of today is that they've come to a good conclusion, and I'm not "outraged" at all. This gives actually me some hope for this government and their willingness to listen and adapt.

However, I also feel they deserve to take some flack - not pitchfork-carrying, effigy burning outrage, but some honest criticism. They mishandled it from the start. There were a lot of people and data that supported the notion that Alberta's royalties are actually pretty fair, given our position in the global energy market. The NDP chose to ignore all of this (despite several of them being in the government with full access to the data), and declare that the current royalty structure was unfair and that they would rectify this injustice. Immediately upon coming into power they started this very public process that promised substantial changes. They did not need to do this. They easily could have quietly looked at the data, got up to speed and assessed the path forward without introducing additional uncertainty into an already fraught economic situation, but they wanted to make a very public show that they were going to fight for Albertans' fair share.

And for those that are saying the royalty review was of minimal impact and that price and export capacity are the biggest issues, you're probably right for much of the energy sector. However, there are a fair number of producers focused on lighter oil plays that could have been doing something at the $40 prices we had last year. Yes, the industry still would have been down overall, and there would have been layoffs, but for some areas things could have been slightly better.

Again, overall I think this was a good conclusion to the process, and it makes me hopeful for this government's approach to future issues. I just hope they (and other parties) take note that sometimes it's better to take a beat and assess things before making bold declarations and charging off in a wrong-headed direction.

01-29-2016, 04:13 PM	#1137
puckhog Backup Goalie Join Date: Oct 2007 Exp:	To those questioning the outrage from those of us who are generally "against" the NDP (in quotes because I honestly hope they do a good job, even if I don't agree with their positions), my feeling out of today is that they've come to a good conclusion, and I'm not "outraged" at all. This gives actually me some hope for this government and their willingness to listen and adapt. However, I also feel they deserve to take some flack - not pitchfork-carrying, effigy burning outrage, but some honest criticism. They mishandled it from the start. There were a lot of people and data that supported the notion that Alberta's royalties are actually pretty fair, given our position in the global energy market. The NDP chose to ignore all of this (despite several of them being in the government with full access to the data), and declare that the current royalty structure was unfair and that they would rectify this injustice. Immediately upon coming into power they started this very public process that promised substantial changes. They did not need to do this. They easily could have quietly looked at the data, got up to speed and assessed the path forward without introducing additional uncertainty into an already fraught economic situation, but they wanted to make a very public show that they were going to fight for Albertans' fair share. And for those that are saying the royalty review was of minimal impact and that price and export capacity are the biggest issues, you're probably right for much of the energy sector. However, there are a fair number of producers focused on lighter oil plays that could have been doing something at the $40 prices we had last year. Yes, the industry still would have been down overall, and there would have been layoffs, but for some areas things could have been slightly better. Again, overall I think this was a good conclusion to the process, and it makes me hopeful for this government's approach to future issues. I just hope they (and other parties) take note that sometimes it's better to take a beat and assess things before making bold declarations and charging off in a wrong-headed direction.