Our Resources, Our Future, Our Decisions

Our Resources, Our Future, Our Decisions

Date:	Sunday, October 21, 2007
Time:	2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location:	Alex Taylor School Gymnasium
Street:	9321 Jasper Avenue
City/Town:	Edmonton, AB

Who should get the royalties - big oil or the people of Alberta? Come and have your say.

Participate in community discussions about the current Royalty Review. Hear from respected panelists and join in the discussion

Panelists Include:
Brian Mason - Leader of Alberta's NDP
Diana Gibson - Parkland Institue
Bill Moore Kilgannon - Public Interest Alberta

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you


SEE:

Mason Hits The Bricks

I Am Malcontent

Who Will Decide About Royalties

Headline Says It All

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Tags
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,
Alberta, Premier,
Alberta NDP, Brian Mason,

Real Oil Workers Rally

In response to the right wing rally by oil company executives in hard hats today at the Legislature the Alberta Federation of Labour will be holding a real oil workers rally in a real oil city.

Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 9pm to 10:30pm

Timberline Room, Sawridge Hotel, Fort McMurray

The Real Oil Workers Forum and Rally

Come sign our petition urging the government to increase royalties and guarantee more value-added production in Alberta. Make your voice heard. Bring copies of the petition back to your jobsites!

Hosted by the Alberta Federation of Labour

Meanwhile the guys from Quattro Energy Services and their Alberta Alliance pals might be in for a surprise at their rally today. Real hard hat oil workers might show up to counter protest.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you



royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

The Autumn Of Our Discontent

It appears that the Alberta Advantage is not all it is trumped up to be. At least to Martha and Henry. I guess we are all malcontents now.

a portrait of disquiet reflected in a new Harris-Decima survey of western Canadians conducted for The Canadian Press.

The online survey looked at the attitudes of 1,400 westerners, but found the most angst and unhappiness in Alberta, the province that leads the nation in growth and per capita wealth.

One in four Alberta respondents said they found people in the province generally grumpier and less civil compared with two years ago.

And despite multibillion-dollar budget surpluses and a provincewide construction boom to try to accommodate the teeming inflow of newcomers:

-24 per cent said the post-secondary education has worsened.

-28 per cent said grade-school education has deteriorated.

-51 per cent said their community has not improved or, in some cases, even worsened.

-70 per cent said there has been no improvement in their family's health and well-being.

The survey, conducted Sept. 10-12, is considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points 19 times out of 20. When just the 350 Alberta respondents are counted, the sampling error is plus or minus 5.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

So I guess a Fall/Winter election is not a good idea for Prince Eddie.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
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Hugo Stelmach

The tactics used by the oil bosses in Venezuela are now being used in Alberta.

Media Advisory - Oil Workers to Gather at Legislature to Save Jobs ...

A misleading headline, they aren't really the 'oil' workers. Like Venezuela they are the self interested oil bosses forcing their non-union workers to rally for their jobs that they threaten to cut to stop Albertans getting their fare share of royalties.

Derrick Jacobson, the owner of Quattro Energy Services, a small oil and
gas service company operating in central Alberta, took the initiative of
organizing this rally with his employees and other concerned Albertans.

Digging a bit deeper we find like Venezuala it is a right wing political rally organized by the big oil supporters of the Alberta Alliance Party.

RE: Grassroots Oilworkers Rally

Hello all,

We have booked the grounds at the Alberta Legislature for Wednesday, October17th, 2007 at11:00 am. The address is10800-97th Avenue Edmonton, AB.

We will have MLA Paul Hinman as a guest speaker. If there are any others interested in speaking please let me know so that I may have some type of schedule in place.

I will have a link on my website with all of the reports, petition, as well as releases from Oil Companies. This rally will be designed to inform the public on the crippling effect passing the Royalty Review will have as well as protest the passing of it.

Please be advised it will be kept professional and is not intended to have a wolf pack mentality. We only have one shot at this so let’s be on our best behavior and let our concerns be heard. If anyone is lining up buses etc. I will also post it on my website. This link will be up and running by the end of the day.

The premier is booked to make a public address on the 22nd. Bring your hardhats and let’s show them what Alberta is about. The rally will take place in front of the main entrance steps.

Regards,
Derrick Jacobson
President-Quattro Energy Services Inc.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you


SEE:

I Am Malcontent

Who Will Decide About Royalties

Headline Says It All

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

I Am Malcontent

“[The royalty report] has tapped into a pocket of malcontent that nobody knew existed,” said David Yager, chief executive officer of HSE Integrated Ltd., a small energy services company, and a columnist for Oilweek magazine.

That's because the oil elitists and their special interests live in the golden petro towers of Calgary.

Far above the masses on main street.

And I find it interesting he used 'malcontent' rather than what it really is mass discontent with the Tired Old Tories.


Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you

SEE:

Who Will Decide About Royalties

Headline Says It All

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

Who Will Decide About Royalties

Big Oil and their pals in the investment industry according to this story in the Globe and Mail today.The folks who have been whining the most are having secret meetings with Stelmach's Government.

According to Tristone, which has worked closely with Alberta civil servants in Edmonton to produce new work it will present on Monday

“I think Stelmach's going to make the right decision,” said George Gosbee, chairman of Tristone Capital Inc., a Calgary investment bank that has worked to broker a balance between higher royalties and keeping the province's economic engine running.

These are the same guys that said this earlier this month; Tristone CEO sees lower gas output if cost rises

International oil producers will flee Alberta if the Western Canadian province's government implements a proposed hike to oil and natural gas royalties and taxes, an investment bank said on Monday.

Going ahead with a recommended 20 percent, or C$2 billion, hike to Alberta's take from oil and gas production in the province will actually cause government revenue to drop as production falls by half-a-million barrels a day, according to Tristone Capital Inc, an investment bank that serves the oil and gas industry.

"The C$2 billion increase per year in the government's take is an absolute fallacy," George Gosbee, Tristone's chief executive, told reporters.

Instead of an increase, government revenue would fall by about $1 billion a year if the proposals are adopted, the banker said.

Tristone's study is the latest in a series of industry arguments against the royalty hike proposed last month by a government-appointed panel.

Tristone did not make their predictions or objections known to the original Royalty Commission.

Tristone Capital Inc., a brokerage that did not participate in the public review, published a lengthy response to the panel's report,

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you


SEE:

Headline Says It All

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

Headline Says It All

And just as he was going up a wee bit in the polls the National Post ran this screaming full banner headline on their front page today;

STELMACH BLINKS FIRST
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has indicated he may be willing to give in to intense oil-industry pressure

Which then resulted in this:

Premier Stelmach quoted as saying he won't trounce royalty deals

Stelmach reconsidering royalty issue: report

Alberta leader wants calm Stelmach: formal royalty, tax talks ‘over,’ but ministers meet privately with investors

And while Eddies PR flack; former Calgary Herald Columnist (and scab), Tom Olson admits he wasn't at the 'private' business affair he attempts to do some damage control;

Alberta premier has not decided on royalties: aide

Alberta's premier has not ruled out any recommendations from his royalty review panel, which has urged the province to boost its take from the oil industry by C$2 billion ($2.1 billion), or 20 percent, a year, his spokesman said on Friday.

"No final decisions have been made," Tom Olsen, a spokesman for Premier Ed Stelmach, told Reuters. "The premier is committed to meeting the objective of the report. The suggestion of (panel chairman Bill) Hunter is that there was room to move on royalties. The status quo is not an option."

No royalty decision yet

Premier Ed Stelmach's office insists he has not made any final decisions on royalties, after a newspaper report today suggested he's backing away from at least one of the royalty review panel's contentious proposals.

Stelmach said a private speech Thursday to about 100 executives organized by the Harvard Business School Club in Calgary that he will "not trounce existing agreements," the National Post reported, citing sources in attendance at the event.

The government-commissioned review on energy royalties urged Stelmach against "grandfathering" - imposing new rules on higher royalties on projects that have already begun under the current royalty system.

"I can't dispute the quote," said Tom Olsen, the premier's press secretary.

Olsen said he wasn't at the speech.

David Heyman, another premier's aide who was there, said he couldn't recall any exact quotes, and no government staff recorded or took notes as Stelmach spoke.

Stelmach's remarks came to an audience member's question. "Here's what I do remember: It was a long answer. It took several minutes," Heyman said.

The aide noted that Stelmach's speaking style doesn't include "short, sharp sentences," so it might be difficult to draw conclusions based on one part of a lengthy comment.

You see he can't really think on his feet, he rambles, he is indecisive, he goes with the wind.

While the government continues to back pedal and lower expectations on the royalty issue despite it giving Ed a boost in the polls. Its the politics of lowered expectations.

No decision expected for another two weeks

With energy companies warning high royalties will trigger cutbacks and job losses, and public opinion overwhelmingly in favour of higher royalties, this is almost universally deemed the pivotal decision of Stelmach's leadership.

Energy Minister Mel Knight refused to comment on the progress of his department's study of the royalty review.

"We're working very hard to reach a balance," Knight said outside cabinet Tuesday.

Stelmach and many ministers have largely abandoned talk of Albertans' "fair share" of resource revenues -- they've instead adopted the buzzword "balance," referring to a decision that considers both the public's ownership of resources and industry's multibillion-dollar investments.

The two weeks is when Ed will do his Ralph Klein imitation and do a fireside chat on TV.

Stelmach may call late fall vote

Pass new royalty law before any hint of election: NDP

And of course the first family of the right in Alberta, the Byfield's once again have one of their scions defend Big Oil and tell us how good we have it here, hinting at the doom and gloom of the recession of the eighties if we dare ask for our 'fair share';

Fairness And Envy: Human Factors That Fuel The Royalty Debate
Nickle's Energy Group, Canada - 9 Oct 2007
By Mike Byfield

As I have said before Ed is preparing to sell us out to the oil interests.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you

SEE:

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

Ohhh Pulllleeeaasse

So I guess they won't need all those temporary workers they said they needed.

Royalty hikes forecast to cost thousands of jobs

Oil sands projects worth more than $20-billion could be shelved by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. if proposals to increase royalties in Alberta are fully adopted, the company said yesterday, joining a chorus of dire warnings from the energy sector.

In the oil sands, Canadian Natural's $7.6-billion Horizon mine is nearing completion and will continue, and phases two and three of the mine, which are already partly built, will also likely go ahead, the company said.

DEATHS PROBE WRAPS UP

FORT MCMURRAY -- An on-site investigation into the deaths of two workers at a northern Alberta oilsands tank construction site has been completed.

The two men died last April while working at the multibillion-dollar Horizon oilsands project belonging to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. near Fort McMurray.

Witnesses said a massive tank collapsed, killing two temporary Chinese workers and injuring four more.

Occupational Health and Safety has forwarded its findings to Alberta Justice for review.

It will be up to Justice officials to determine whether charges should be laid against the company.

Stelmach has also been the strongest supporter among Canadian premiers of expanding temporary foreign workers and labor mobility under the Alberta-B.C. Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, or TILMA.

The two Chinese laborers, hired among a group of temporary foreign workers by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. to construct a giant holding tank in the oil sands, died after the tank collapsed April 24.

And where will they go? Why to 'socialist' Saskatchewan!!! And they pay more in royalties for their North Sea operations as well!!!

Mr. Laut said his company would move spending to British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the North Sea and offshore West Africa, as well as pay down debt,

Being the National Post and pro-business this article makes it seem like they would be moving out, when in fact CNRL is already operating in these locations.

Hey I hear paying down debt is the thing to do. If it's good enough for Ralph Klein and Stephen Harper it should be good for CNRL. See a royalty increase is a good thing. It helps Saskatchewan and it helps a company control its spending just like they always tell us the government should do.

So quit your sniveling and whining CNRL a reasonable royalty increase is what the doctor ordered, so suck it up and take your medicine.

And it is a good thing if this happens because it would help cool our overheated economy.

The company would also drill 65 per cent fewer natural gas wells and 15 per cent fewer oil wells if the government adopts the recommendations of the review panel's report.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you


SEE:

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
CLAC, unions, labour shortage, Monte Solberg, Canada, Alberta, tarsands, oilsands, labour, labor, work, jobs, IBEW, Merit Contractors, non-union, rat unions, yellow dog union, Timmies, Tim Hortons, temporary workers,
Stelmach, Alberta, tarsands, oilsands, Canada, state capitalism, royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,

Alberta Needs A Chavez

Big Oil is using all the hype it can to say it will divest itself from Alberta if they have to pay increased royalties. Yeah sure. We have the oil and gas that they need. So quit making idle threats. They threaten to leave, they compare us to Venezuela So either they pay the pittance asked of them by the Royalty Review Committee or we should do exactly what they say; nationalize them under workers control.

After all they seem to forget that while they and their right wing apologists claim that they 'invest' in the development oil and gas, and this makes them the real owners, their investment is the result of capital accumulated from living and dead labour. Labour is required not just capital. And we have both.

International oil producers will flee Alberta if the Western Canadian province's government implements a proposed hike to oil and natural gas royalties and taxes, an investment bank said on Monday.

Going ahead with a recommended 20 percent, or C$2 billion, hike to Alberta's take from oil and gas production in the province will actually cause government revenue to drop as production falls by half-a-million barrels a day, according to Tristone Capital Inc, an investment bank that serves the oil and gas industry.

Shoddy report on royalties robs Alberta

Terence Corcoran, Financial Post

Published: Thursday, October 04, 2007

Another Alberta resource player, this time Jim Buckee at Talisman, has joined the growing corporate chorus against proposals to raise royalties on the province's energy output. If the plan goes ahead, said Mr. Buckee in a letter yesterday to Premier Ed Stelmach, Talisman "would likely cut $500-million" in capital spending.

Other companies waiving red flags over Alberta -- described jauntily by Deutsche Bank analysts as a new "Bolivarian Republic" -- include EnCana, Crescent Point Energy and Petro-Canada. By now, several billion dollars in new investment have been put in doubt since the royalty proposals were floated two week ago by an outfit called the Alberta Royalty Review Panel. Claiming Albertans aren't getting their fair share of energy-resource royalties, the panel proposed a new regime to extract another $2-billion a year out of oil and gas production.

Based on the great socialist-statist principle revered by Alberta Conservatives, that mineral resources are "owned by the people," the review panel easily worked its way up to the idea that the people weren't getting enough of a share as owners.

Socialist Conservatives? Oh please gimme a break. They were the heroes of neo-cons for the past decade, heroes to dweebs like Corcoran. Now by asking for a fair share, and mind you its a small share based on extensive lobbying by the industry during the committees public hearings, Prince Eddie is suddenly being compared to Hugo Chavez.

The reality is that they already knew that Alberta's conventional oil and gas reserves are in a serious decline. Increasing royalties will not change that.They are making much ado about nothing to scare Albertans into accepting less than our fair share.

Don't Let Big Oil Set Our Royalty Rates make sure Ed hears from you.

SEE:

Albertans Are Simpletons Says Government

Royalty Is NOT A Tax

Fearless Prediction Confirmed

Morons

More Shills For Big Oil

Stelmach Sells Out

King Ralph Shills For Big Oil

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Stelmach, Alberta, tarsands, oilsands, Canada, state capitalism, royalties, oil, profits,
Bill Hunter, Alberta Royalty Review,
Alberta Cabinet, CAPP, Ed Stelmach,
Big Oil,oil royalties, PC, Calgary, Party of Calgary, politics, NEP, Conservatives, Fort McMurray, One Party State,