Government could better manage oilsands royalties
Posted Apr 14, 2011 8:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new report from the Auditor General suggests the province could do better when it comes to managing oilsands royalties.
The report finds the government has improved the way it describes, reviews, measures and reports conventional and natural gas royalties, but when it comes to the oilsands.
Auditor General Merwan Saher included 14 recommendations in the report tabled Thursday in the Legislature. Four of those recommendations have been made before, but never implemented.
Two opposition leaders say they’re angered the PC’s aren’t taking the suggestions seriously.
Liberal Leader Dr. David Swann tells 660News, over the past decade the Auditor General has made some 280 recommendations about similar issues, which have all been ignored.
“I’m frustrated with a government that will not act on over 280 recommendations of the Auditor General over the past decade,” says Swann, “The current Auditor General highlighted that in his opening remarks, that he’s concerned that these 280 recommendations go back a decade and they have to do fundamentally with failure to monitor and manage appropriately, the various programs, services and investments we’ve made. We’re talking about millions of public dollars here.”
Swann adds he’d like the Auditor General to have more power and resources to demand accountability from the government.
NDP leader Brian Mason says they’re disappointed in the Tories, but he’s not sure whether they will actually do anything about the latest report.
“Because they’ve got this kind of ‘sweetheart’ deal with the oil industry in Alberta, where they let the oil industry get away with billions of dollars in extra revenue, that should rightfully belong to the people of Alberta, and in exchange the oil and gas industry gives them big campaign donations,” he says.
Mason adds the report shows the Tories cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of Albertans.
