That is a wide open statement with the intent of raising royalties.
And in their platform they do mention implementing a sliding scale for Royalties, i.e. fluctuating royalties with oil prices. This will kill E&P profits cause both primary and secondary job loss and indeed, a much hurt Alberta. Somehow this is suppose to reduce our bitumen dependence? Jesus, I'm a minority and would rather vote for WR then the NDP.
Doesn't that just make sense? It protects the oil industry during difficult times and allows the province to get value for its resources when oil prices are high.
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Huge thanks to Dion for the signature!
- minority NDP government
- The governement falls within a year
- the mystic of NDP goes away
- Alberta Party runs a candidate in all ridings in the following election
- A new minority PC government is formed (in conjunction with the Alberta Party) (and yes I know it is a big stretch)
Unfortunately, there is no Alberta party in my riding. So I am undecided in who to vote for (both WR and NDP are no go's). So it will either be Liberal (who are basically 'irrelevant') or vote PC (and holding my nose as I do so).
I have been quite impressed with the Alberta's Party platform, here is a link for the curious:
Yeah, and I don't agree with everything there by any stretch but in general there's some sanity at least. Although I do take issue with the lack of detail. What is this "progressive tax plan that's fair to average Albertans"? I need a bit more information...
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
Doesn't that just make sense? It protects the oil industry during difficult times and allows the province to get value for its resources when oil prices are high.
It does make sense, but that's not how it plays out in the real world. When you keep messing around with rates, Alberta won't be seen as stable and that's the main issue here. Companies want to invest where market conditions are stable so forecasts and budgets can be relied on.
With a "royalty review" Alberta is saying nothing is stable. Add on a higher corporate tax rate and this provice is in for a world of hurt.
I honestly fear for the economic future of our province if the NDP get voted in.
On that basis, they actually cause damage immediately upon the votes being tallied and before the new government has even done anything.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
Wow. So much fear mongering in here. It's hilarious to me that people are so afraid of a party that has zero experience in this province due to a 40 year rule of PCs that they'd rather continue to allow said PC party to continue to run this province horribly. You must all love roller coasters. I do, but I want off this one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PsYcNeT
I heard there is a right-wing provincial government that has mismanaged a cash-flush province to the point that they have no reserve fund. It's almost a ludicrous prospect but I assure you it's true.
I'd like to find fault in your statement, but I cannot.
To be completely fair, however, it should be noted that she only very recently found out that she was going to do this. She doesn't have the benefit of having a year+ and the big $crilla to get the machine running like Khan. With some time to get up to speed, I'm confident that she will be an outstanding representative. (full disclosure: been friends with her for a long time).
As I said in my previous post, I could see her being a good candidate in the future. Even running as a nearly paper candidate is good experience for her. Is she a hard-core NDPer? I didn't get a sense at the debate that she. She seemed a bit more moderate than your usual NDP candidate. I honestly could see her really fitting in to the Alberta Party, which I could really see growing substantially over the next few elections. Especially, if Greg Clark is elected.
The race is between PC and Lib (Liberal incumbent, Kent Hehr, turning to Fed. politics)
I won't vote PC this time; but I am having a damn hard time finding a reasonable alternative.
Mr. Hehr came to our door the other day and the girlfriend was home. She historically votes conservative but is a moderate. After her brief conversation with him, she was completely turned off the Libs and is now considering NDP.
I cannot bring myself to vote for the NDP as too many of their core values are diametrically opposite of mine.
Honestly, give me a party that will increase taxes, cut spending, and rely less on royalty revenue and you have my vote! unfortunately, there is no party out there that fits that criteria.
Doesn't that just make sense? It protects the oil industry during difficult times and allows the province to get value for its resources when oil prices are high.
Ideally yes, but unfortunately that is not how it will play out. With the uncertainty of a sliding scale private and institutional investors will shy away from funding the small guy who wants to start/continue running an E&P. There will be way too many what if scenarios for these guys and a provincial risk factor which will probably make non-Oil investments seem more lucrative. Further, this royalty regime will add more favor for exploiting hydrocarbons in the already favored Saskatchewan. Something I find amusing, since SK is already favored heavily for heavy oil and thermal projects because of AER regulations.
For the majors, similarly they will shift focus away from Alberta, why would they focus their energy here when the return in SK or elsewhere will net a greater return?
Alberta Party should have ran more people, I think they would have bested the Liberals in terms of seats with more candidates. Basically they're a business-focused centrist party with a more charismatic leader in Clark and just, well, not the Liberals. I'll be voting for my AP candidate this election too. I just cant' bring myself to vote NDP on account of their waffling on the Keystone issue, and I certainly can't vote Wildrose because of their previous faux pas with religion and anti-gay stuff, not to mention their boogeyman stance on taxes. PC's? Forget about it.
Yeah, I really wish I could've voted for these guys, but there's no candidate in my riding either. Their policies (at least in theory) line up a lot with my own.
Perhaps they weren't expecting the election, but it was kind of a blow opportunity by them. This is about as good of a perfect storm as one can hope for.
The race is between PC and Lib (Liberal incumbent, Kent Hehr, turning to Fed. politics)
I won't vote PC this time; but I am having a damn hard time finding a reasonable alternative.
Mr. Hehr came to our door the other day and the girlfriend was home. She historically votes conservative but is a moderate. After her brief conversation with him, she was completely turned off the Libs and is now considering NDP.
I cannot bring myself to vote for the NDP as too many of their core values are diametrically opposite of mine.
Honestly, give me a party that will increase taxes, cut spending, and rely less on royalty revenue and you have my vote! unfortunately, there is no party out there that fits that criteria.
What makes you think the race is between PC and Libs? The riding has been historically Liberal - even during the PC heyday. If anything it is a race between the Liberals and NDP.
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What makes you think the race is between PC and Libs? The riding has been historically Liberal - even during the PC heyday. If anything it is a race between the Liberals and NDP.
Terry Rock is a very strong candidate and has run a good campaign. I wouldn't count him out, even if the PC vote craters.
Yeah, I really wish I could've voted for these guys, but there's no candidate in my riding either. Their policies (at least in theory) line up a lot with my own.
Perhaps they weren't expecting the election, but it was kind of a blow opportunity by them. This is about as good of a perfect storm as one can hope for.
Maybe on CP, but realistically they are polling at 2-3% everywhere other than Elbow.
As I said in my previous post, I could see her being a good candidate in the future. Even running as a nearly paper candidate is good experience for her. Is she a hard-core NDPer? I didn't get a sense at the debate that she. She seemed a bit more moderate than your usual NDP candidate. I honestly could see her really fitting in to the Alberta Party, which I could really see growing substantially over the next few elections. Especially, if Greg Clark is elected.
Hardcore NDP'er? I'm not a good person to gauge this because I've been largely ambivalent to politics for most of my life (and I still don't know wtf Alberta Party is). Above all else, she is a very logical and pragmatic person (she has heard her share of female vulcan jokes). She is also the only lawyer I know who isn't a raging capitalist (genuinely has an abundance of compassion and empathy for all). I would say she is left-leaning (at least from my righty perspective), but I cannot comment on where in the NDP/AP spectrum she stands.
Hardcore NDP'er? I'm not a good person to gauge this because I've been largely ambivalent to politics for most of my life (and I still don't know wtf Alberta Party is).
The fact that the NDP are going to review the royalty program should be a non starter for putting them in power.
The patch is suffering enough, the last thing we need is to increase royalties on investment up north. Just ridiculous to even consider it.
Personally, I think this is part of the problem...that most people only look at the current situation, and want to make decisions based on that particular circumstance only. In a few years, when the energy sector will probably be riding high again, and everyone is getting giant bonus checks, and spending like its going out of style...is that a good time to re-assess things? What about in another decade when there's another down-turn? Do you then change your thinking again?
This type of industry will always yo-yo, so how about looking at things a little long-term, and making some decisions based on that? Let's have a master plan that takes into account what happens to this province in 25-50 years. What's the best situation for our children and grandchildren, and not just for our bank account right this second.
Me, I'd like to see a government that sets the tone for the next generation. One that looks to support and energize the O/G economy, but one that also understands that there's a strong societal push around the world to move away from oil-based resources, and that we may not be able to solely rely on oil/gas a few decades from now. Id like to see a government at least consider what happens if things never truly recover or if there's a malaise for a decade. I'd also like to see a government have a budget that doesn't require high oil revenues to fund basic services.
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Me, I'd like to see a government that sets the tone for the next generation. One that looks to support and energize the O/G economy, but one that also understands that there's a strong societal push around the world to move away from oil-based resources, and that we may not be able to solely rely on oil/gas a few decades from now. Id like to see a government at least consider what happens if things never truly recover or if there's a malaise for a decade. I'd also like to see a government have a budget that doesn't require high oil revenues to fund basic services.
Agreed. I think Alberta needs to become an energy leader, not necessarily an oil and gas leader. Now is the time to start thinking about the long-term future and making the necessary changes to start accommodating that investment.
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