Your news this week: Lamont High to Finland - 9 Donation to Bruderheim - 12 Duck Tunnels - 19 OPINION: Humboldt details - 4
Proud to be an Independent CANADIAN Publication
FREE
Vol. 14, No. 11, Wednesday, January 30, 2018 www.LamontLeader.com
Premier Notley announces $440 million investment for Heartland project reboot BY JOHN MATHER Just days after Alberta Premier Rachel Notley reported she expected to announce new projects for the Alberta Industrial Heartland, she did just that. Notley said Jan. 22, Calgary-based Value Creation planned to build a 77,500 barrel-per-day partial upgrading facility near Edmonton. Notley had reported at the Alberta Industrial Heartland stakeholders meeting Jan. 17, she expected to make some announcements of projects in the coming weeks. The Creation Value site is the former BA Upgrader project in the Industrial Heartland. The government offered Value Creation a $440-million loan guarantee for the $2-billion facility and Notley added Jan. 28, that more announcements are expected soon. Columba Yeung, chair and CEO of Value Creation, stated $700-million had
already been spent on the facility. Notley stated the loan guarantee is part of the province’s made in Alberta strategy to diversify the province’s reliance on exporting raw resources and create some value added products in the province. Value Creation said the project will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and then 200 full time positions when the project is completed. It will be expected to generate nearly $2.5 billion in rev-
enue to the province over the 30-year life of the project and Strathcona County is projected to receive upwards of $280 million in taxes at the same time. Bruderheim Mayor Karl Hauch stated he was cautiously optimistic about the project. “They’re the same guys who pushed the BA project in the first place,” he said. “We don’t know where Value Creation is at. All we know is the province has approached people to invest in projects and the province
would assist in funding.” The Alberta Liberal Party issued a release last week stating the provincial NDP were “gambling with taxpayers money to shamelessly promote its chances for re-election. The NDP government should not be playing the part of an investor in a political theatre stage show.” Liberal leader David Khan said in the release, “Alberta taxpayers should not have to pay to create jobs for themselves and boost our economy. Every single Albertan is now on the hook for $110 per person with the $440 million loan guarantee by the NDP government for this project.” He added if the government had the extra $440 million, it should have been allocated to pay down debt, end overcrowded classrooms or invest in further mental health supports.
Backlash starts Alberta Government oil production cuts to begin temporarily BY JOHN MATHER The UCP is backtracking on its support of the Notley government’s plan to curtail oil production temporarily. Lac La Biche–St. Paul–Two Hills MLA Dave Hanson and Bonnyville– Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr came out against the policy after learning 500 to 1,000 jobs may be lost in the oil patch this week. Canada Natural Resources Ltd. stated Jan. 28, the company was “extremely concerned” by revisions to the NDP strategy set to come into effect in February, warning the changes “will hurt jobs” if carried through. While CNRL had originally supported the government’s call for cutbacks, in a letter to suppliers last week, it stat-
ed it felt amendments to the formula would see the company burdened with “unreasonable and discriminatory” share of the curtailment. “The revised methodology is flawed and clearly discriminatory to Canadian Natural Resources and as a result impacts the heavy oil regions of Alberta,” read the letter. CNRL said it would cut back production by more than a third in February. The two UCP MLAs, whose constituencies contain CNRL properties said, “The NDP minister needs to come to our community to explain the changes.” “It is simply not acceptable for the government to hide from a decision
that stands to cost hundreds of Albertans in our community their jobs.” “United Conservatives called for and supported temporary curtailment as a measure that prevented wider job losses from the low price of oil at the end of 2108. We recognize that a persistent massive price differential would have almost certainly resulted in major job losses, not just in our region, but across Alberta.” “That said,” the MLAs release went on, ”our support for curtailment as a temporary measure was never meant as a blank cheque for the government, and today, we are calling on the NDP government to explain this formula change.”
Earlier this month, Husky Energy, also blamed the government cuts for crude curtailment as unfair. The company said its expected contributions to the cuts in January were “considerably higher” than the 8.7 industry wide target announced by the NDP. Other integrated companies like Suncor and Imperial Oil Ltd also oppose the cuts. Suncor said the cuts had created “winners and losers” and could cause problems with safety and operational reliability at its oilsands projects that normally operate flat out during the coldest months of the year.