| New Group Fighting Oil and Gas Development in Foothills
A new group of ranchers and landowners in southwestern Alberta has banded together to fight against oil and gas development in the Cowley area.
Members of the Livingstone Landowners’ Group say they’re concerned about Calgary oil and gas company Win Energy’s plans to drill natural gas wells in the area. And they say they’re angry that the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) hasn’t made the company consult with the public on its plans.
Win Energy has received approval to drill one well near Cowley, and the company has publicly stated there’s potential to drill another 20 to 30 wells in the area. Andrew Nikiforuk, a local landowner and award-winning journalist who has written extensively on oil and gas issues, says Win Energy hasn’t made any effort to consult with the local community about its future plans and the EUB isn’t looking at potential cumulative effects of development in the area. He says PetroCanada is also interested in drilling more wells in the area.
"Most of us feel we are stewards of southern Alberta’s heritage. We think the future of the foothills shouldn’t be determined by a few arbitrary decisions by the EUB," says Nikiforuk.
He says local ranchers and landowners have concerns about future development affecting groundwater quality and quantity, as well as concerns about air pollution, land fragmentation and a decrease in property values.
EUB spokesperson Bob Curran says Win Energy wasn’t required to consult with any member of the Livingstone Landowners’ Group because none of them lived close enough to the gas well to have intervenor status.
"We’re not going to force the company to do something that’s not required," says Curran. "People have to understand just because they don’t like something they can’t prevent it from happening."
Theatre Calgary’s Artistic Director Leaving
Theatre Calgary will be hiring a new artistic director after the company’s board of directors decided not to renew current artistic director Ian Prinsloo’s contract.
Prinsloo, who has been the artistic director for eight years, will leave the company this summer. Prinsloo helped rebuild Theatre Calgary’s audience after financial difficulties in the mid-1990s.
"His contract is expiring and we’ve chosen not to renew it," says Maggie Schofield, chair of Theatre Calgary’s board of directors. "We would like to bring some new, fresh eyes and blood into the organization."
Schofield says the company will begin a national search for a replacement soon.
"We believe in order to align with our strategic objectives… we felt this was a good time to look at someone else to meet those directions," she says.
Theatre Calgary president Tom McCabe says the group’s "artistic direction and vision" will remain the same under a new artistic director.
"(Prinsloo’s) had eight years. He’s been the longest serving artistic director at the theatre so I think he’s had a good run," says McCabe. |
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