Alberta’s Energy Minister revealed the three other individuals on the four-person royalty review panel, and laid out plans for the royalty review.
Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd, alongside panel chair Dave Mowat, revealed the other three members of the review panel in a news conference Friday morning.
The members are as follows:
- Peter Tertzakian, energy economist
- Annette Trimbee, former Alberta deputy minister of finance
- Leona Hanson, Mayor of Beaverlodge
For the royalty review, the four-person panel will collect feedback from Albertans, representatives of the energy industry and stakeholders through meetings, public sessions, and online interaction.
“This is a critically important review,” Tertzakian said. “I think we can really set the province up for prosperity going forward.”
Tertzakian said he thinks the timing is good, but Official Opposition members disagree.
“Not when the energy industry is facing a cap and trade tax that could redistribute wealth outside the province, not when it’s facing a carbon tax, when it’s faced a 20 percent increase in business taxes,” Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt said.
The government said the current royalty framework will stay in place until the end of next year – if and when changes are made, any incremental revenue will go into the Alberta Heritage Fund.
It’s hoped the 16 month cushion will help the industry make plans – but industry leaders want clarity sooner, rather than later.
“The investments companies want to make in our province are not just for one year or two years, they are for 40 or 50 years, so having that clarity sooner rather than later that’s crucial,” Tim McMillan with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said.
The province is encouraging Albertans to visit a website set up for the review to submit their comments.
With files from Susan Amerongen
