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Oil and Gas Sector, Royalties, and Workers

The wealth of Alberta belongs to all Albertans, not a select few. Corporations and the rich must pay their fair share in taxes and royalties. The Green Party of Alberta would make them, opening the door to paying down environmental liabilities, boosting employment, and filling the coffers of the Heritage Fund, not to mention reining in the high cost of living.

Mismanagement of public funds is preventing the government from serving Albertans effectively and hampering the prospects of Alberta. We would take back control of our resources to realize a modern vision of Peter Lougheed.

The Green Party of Alberta will:

  • Replace the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)
    • Replace the privately incorporated and industry-captive AER with review boards that work in the public interest and are truly independent from the industries they're regulating
    • Enforce regulations to make polluters clean up the messes they create and pay sizable fines, and resolve the harm done to the health and safety of Albertans and the environment by the incapable AER
  • Scrap the RStar giveway
    • End the UCP's $20-billion reward to oil companies for polluting Alberta's environment and remediating wells they're already legally obliged to remediate
  • Raise royalties
    • Follow the example of Peter Lougheed and increase royalties in resource development, restoring rates to their prior level, thereby increasing available revenues and creating a surplus for savings and investments
  • Tax the Rich
    • Implement a steeply progressive income tax rate, lowering taxes for low earners while increasing them for high earners, particularly the highest, such as taxing incomes over $1-million at a rate of 40%, compared to 15% currently
  • Stop corporate profiteering
    • Introduce a cap on excess profits from resource development and distribute the benefits of oil and gas industry profits more evenly, fund mitigation of its harms, and ensure all Albertans enjoy a good standard of living
  • Grow the Heritage Fund
    • In line with the original aims of the Heritage Fund, which would have grown to $1-trillion by 2039 but only sits at $19-billion at the end of 2022, resume regular deposits into the Fund, divest its holdings from fossil fuel industries, invest in green technology and other industries to diversify its holdings and improve its performance
    • Use excess funds exclusively for projects or purposes that will improve the lives of Albertans instead of sending it off to corporate executives and international shareholders
  • Invest in workers
    • Invest in workers during boom times to prepare them for bust by creating government-funded programs to ensure workers in the energy sector have the necessary skills, pensions, and seniority transfer options to transition to other industries when the boom times end
  • Treat cleanup as energy transition
    • Integrate fossil fuel industry cleanup as an important part of transition away from reliance and towards a sustainable energy future
    • Create government-funded programs to put unemployed riggers and idle equipment to work cleaning up the legacy infrastructure left behind by the energy industry