Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
Look, I was about as vocal as could be regarding the royalty review when it was announced, I thought it was a terrible idea.
That being said, I think what they came up with was a much better system, and is actually structured in a way to encourage investment in all Alberta basins, not just a chosen few.
Complain all you want about the timing of the review, but doing so without acknowledging that they ultimately got it right and implemented what is ultimately a better system for investment, is either ignorant, or willfully ignoring a positive outcome to make a point.
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You are understating the uncertainty that was injected, and the capital flight that occurred as a result.
Even if the consensus is that they got the review right, during the process, they scared capital out of the province permanently. Which is something they should have avoided at all costs. Look, I get that they campaigned on a "we need our fair share" platform, and then proceed to do what they said they would in reviewing it.
But the issue is that they took a singularly myopic viewpoint that gave zero consideration to the impact on investor sentiment in our province, at a time when everyone was already reeling from $26/bbl oil.
The capital that left is now a well in North Dakota, or a pipeline in the Permian. And it is only being further augmented every day, and it isn't coming back.
I will forever maintain that the 2015 elections (both federal and provincial) were the most expensive voter temper tantrums in Canadian history.