Reboot Alberta

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Interesting Insight Into the Mood of Blog Readers?

So the Burning Question last week was about the mood of some readers of this blog.  This is not a scientific sampling and only a conversation starter.

We did not put a context on the question just what is your mood about so it is hard to be specific around context.  There were 41% who were on the optimistic side and 22% pessimistic.  Things are generally very good in Alberta but the future is uncertain for 34% of us.  For what it is worth the majority of those who responded are not in a particularly happy place.  Why is that with all the wealth we are told we have?

The economy is turning around, so we are told. So why only 41% of us are optimistic? There is a lingering concern that are we in for another energy sector induced Boom.  But is that a good thing in the minds of most of us.  I think not. We have seen the negative results of that last two Booms.  Is it time to print the third version of the iconic Alberta Bumper Sticker? Please God Give me One More Boom and I Promise Not to Piss it Away - AND THIS TIME I MIGHT ACTUALLY MEAN IT!

The Boom-Bust cycles are harmful for most of us. We make a bunch of money but the hours are long and it takes a toll on families.  The other sectors in our economy suffer staff shortages and we end up with social pressures of all kinds.

Can't we level out the booms and busts so we have steady predictable growth that enhances the well being and prosperity of more Albertans and not just the few at the top in the energy industry?  Is the Alberta destiny to be captives of destructive Booms and then devastating Busts?  There are billions of dollars of investment in oil sands already and billions more to come. How can we optimizing the full range of benefits of this investment now and for future generations?

What is our legacy going to be from the development of the oil sands?  I think it can be fabulous but only if we Albertans, as owners of the oil sands, get engaged in the politics and policy around the responsible and sustainable development of our resource.  With a world addicted to hydrocarbons and Alberta being the only place with significant reserves that is a functioning democracy, we citizen/owners have some serious obligations beyond getting as rich as possible as fast as possible from oil sands development.

What are your thoughts on Booms and Busts being the destiny of Alberta?  Do you like it of not?  What can we do to provide for a more rational integrated economic growth, with environmental protection and a society enhancing approach?  We Albertans are the owners of the oil sands.  We have the blessing and bear the burden of oil sands development as a result.  What do you think we should insist on from the industry as our tenants and the government as our property managers?

What would it take to make you proud as an Albertan and as an owner of the oil sands?  I think the announcement of the commercial upgrader/refinery in Fort Saskatchewan area yesterday is a good start. We Albertans will get more value from the bitumen royalty we take in-kind instead of cash and create the jobs and value here, including raising the bar on environmental concerns like carbon capture.    What do you think?

3 comments:

  1. Why did they wait this long to refine our own Bitumen? is it due to an election issue? most probably.
    I think they are purposely doing things 5 years (or more) behind times, to make it look like they listen to Albertan's , the Conservatives will never change, either big C or small C, it is all the same out of the same Conservative School.
    We need a fresh, new look at Alberta, there is so much here to gain and to be gained from, not just environmental resources, but the Human resources we have here is top notch, just wasted due to those that are unelected and control our Governments, these unelected also seem to be in control in other areas of Canada, as these unelected are not necessarily Canadian.

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  2. Carlos Beca4:32 am

    It is very simple Ken - Own the resources. Have the balls to protect what is ours rather than the interests of your masters. The Conservatives are so blind on ideology and their own private interests that they sold out our resources and even our people's interests to the big corporations. It is disgusting and embarassing. The Norwegian SOCIALISTS want 85% of the profits we the CAPITALIST idiots are happy with 15%. I rest my case.

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  3. jerrymacgp7:39 am

    Speaking of acting too late, the Royalty Review that happened early in Stelmach's watch was a bust partly due to unfortunate timing, given that royalties were raised just in time for the world-wide economic slump. Had they been raised earlier, such as before the most recent boom really took off, the oilpatch would have been able to adapt to the new rates, and the reduction in activity in the sector when the recession arrived might have been less drastic. The NDP had been at the government for years, pressuring them to raise economic rents on non-renewable resources; it is simply unfortunate the government chose to wait so long to do so.

    The real losers in this weren't the big multi-nationals; they were the small, local service operators that are at the core of the 'patch: trucking and pilot car operators, rig service and hotshot firms, and so on laid people off left, right & centre. They are only now starting to pick up again. I personally don't work in the oil & gas industry, but I live in Grande Prairie and the boom & bust cycle is a particularly prominent feature of the local economy.

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