What is going to happen to Alberta several decades from now when all the easy and cheap oil and gas has been extracted? There will be thousands and thousands of people out of work, and without the education or training to find work outside the oil industry.
It makes sense to slow down the rate of extraction of the oil and gas from Alberta. First it will mean more efficient and environmentally sound resource extraction. Second it will leave more resources for the future, 40 60 or 80 years from now, when we will appreciate having some oil and gas left, and people in Alberta will still need jobs. Extracting all of the oil and gas as fast as possible might make short-term economic sense for the oil companies but it doesn't make sense for taxpayers, workers, or the environment.
A friend is moving to Fort MacMurray where I am told a dumpy 3-bedroom home costs $600,000.00 and blue-collar workers earn six figure salaries. Any guesses on how much a house in Fort MacMurray will be worth in 20 or 30 years when the jobs are gone. How many people will have sunk their life savings into a house that is now worth less than a hundred grand?
The oil and gas belong to all the people in Alberta and all the people in Canada. They let the oil and gas companies extract it from the ground. It is not the companies' right to do this, it is a privilege we allow them. Of course the government of Alberta should maximize its profits from the resources that belong to the people. By maintaining high royalty rates the government can preserve oil and gas for the future as well as preserving long-term employment for the future rather than a boom-and-bust economy.
I have no connection to the oil industry but I have invested in many of these companies in the past. I can tell you that as corporations, they are simply machines for making money with no other consideration whatsoever for people jobs environment or anything. Any noise these companies make about caring about the economy, caring about jobs, paying attention to the environment etc. is just a smokescreen. They care about money, money, money and nothing else. We should recognize the sociopathic nature of corporations and create strict regulations to use corporations for the public benefit. If corporations do not benefit the public, they should not be allowed to exist at all.
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