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Regan Boychuk is the Parkland Institute’s Public Policy Research Manager in Calgary. He got his BA in International Relations at the UofC and did his Masters in Political Science at York University. Regan has had a long-time research interest in Alberta’s oil and gas industry and he contributed research to Parkland’s 2007 report on the Alberta Royalty Review Panel.
News of Ed Stelmach eventually stepping down as premier raises a variety of questions about the direction of policy in Alberta, no less so with the government being seriously challenged by the Wildrose Alliance from further right on the ideological spectrum. read more »
After a long string of billions in drilling incentives and royalty holidays for the oilpatch over the last two years, the latest provincial budget update recently confirmed the $5-billion scale of Alberta’s expected deficit. Already enduring a recession and a variety of cuts to public services, Albertans have every reason to expect more of the same from the Progressive Conservative government: generosity for the oilpatch, discipline for citizens.
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Across Canada, we are seeing a more grown-up media conversation about public revenues. Gone are the foot-stomping, the “read my lips” rhetoric, and the fear that mentioning the t-word will cause the sky to fall. read more »
In an expected about-face, the Alberta government effectively reversed the widely supported royalty increases that came into effect last year. According to Energy Minister Ron Liepert, it had “nothing to do with industry running the province” but “everything to do with what constituents have been telling MLAs across this province.” Except that, according to an Environics poll, a majority of Albertans—including two-thirds of Tory supporters—opposed this latest gift to the oilpatch. read more »
A close look at the profits generated in the oil and gas industry, and at the effectiveness of Alberta’s royalty and land lease regimes in meeting Alberta Energy's own revenue capture targets.
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