| Poll shows albertans want bigger piece of oilsands profits
A new poll suggests that a large majority of Albertans want a public review of oilsands royalty rates to ensure they are getting the full benefit of the industry.
The poll, carried out by Winnipeg-based Probe Research, found that 84 per cent of Albertans were in favour of a public review, while 63 per cent believe they are not getting maximum revenue from oilsands development.
It also found that 90 per cent of Albertans overestimate or don’t know the portion of royalties paid to the province from the oilsands industry – developers pay one per cent of a project’s gross revenue until all project costs have been recovered, plus a profit, after which the royalties increase to 25 per cent.
The poll also found that 92 per cent of Albertans believe the provincial government should use a portion of the oilsands revenues to fund the development of alternative energy.
The report was commissioned by the Pembina Institute, an environmental policy think-tank based out of Alberta.
"Alberta’s strategy to liquidate its resources as fast as it can is not in the best interest of Albertans, especially in the long-term," says Amy Taylor, lead economist with the Pembina Institute, in a media release.
The findings are based on a phone survey of 500 Albertans.
Report finds Provincial spending habits hurt future sustainability
A new report from the Parkland Institute says the Alberta government’s approach toward budgeting and planning is jeopardizing the democracy and future sustainability of our province.
It also identifies "serious issues with accountability" with the government’s practice of underestimating surpluses, and the way it has structured the various special accounts it uses to store and invest its surpluses.
"There has been much talk recently about both Alberta’s fiscal surplus and democratic deficit," says Parkland Institute executive director Ricardo Acuna in a media release. "It is important that Albertans understand that the two are actually related."
The report, Fiscal Surplus, Democratic Deficit: Budgeting and Government Finance in Alberta, highlights the ways in which the public is being deliberately excluded from having input in financial decisions, despite the impact of those decisions on public interest.
"Record oil and gas prices have resulted in record surplus after record surplus in Alberta," says David Thompson, one of the members of the committee that drafted the report, in a media release. "Unfortunately, we are either spending this windfall as it comes in, or socking it away in special accounts that exist entirely outside the scrutiny of the legislature or the public."
Over the past six budget years, the government has underestimated total revenues by an average of more than $4.3 billion.
The Parkland Institute says the result has been that cabinet makes government decisions about how to spend the "surprise surplus" outside the scrutiny of the public or the legislature.
The report makes several recommendations to restore accountability, such as opening up standing policy committees to opposition members, increased legislative scrutiny over budget estimates, proper and prudent investment of natural resource revenues, and citizen consultations on budget priorities.
Inglewood community wary of segregating affordable housing
Inglewood residents had a chance to talk about the community’s future direction in terms of affordable housing at a panel discussion held May 23.
The Inglewood Area Development Plan calls for a "mix" of housing types. Currently, the Inglewood Community Association is facing a proposal from Horizon Housing to construct a large, low-income housing complex in the neighbourhood, but the community group objects to the plan due to its remote location in the the deep south side.
"We are in favour of affordable housing developments," says Gian-Carlo Carra, president of the association. "But we are concerned with the low-income ghetto approach that has taken place in our community. Everything has been extremely segregated and car-oriented.
The Jack Long Foundation piloted the community consultation process to develop guidelines for low-income housing in Inglewood, which were based largely on stakeholder input.
Carra says stakeholders expressed a desire to develop the interior of the community to meet housing needs rather than the fringes, which lack access to public transportation. The primary concern about the affordable housing proposal is that it goes against the community association vision of a high-density, urban environment.
The City of Calgary owns some of the land in the more densely populated part of the neighbourhood, which many in the Inglewood community feel would be ideal for low-income housing developments.
Teachers Association frustrated by lack of funding increase
The Alberta Teachers’ Association is urging the government of Alberta to provide a significant increase to the 2006-07 base funding instructional grants provided to school boards.
Alberta teachers are becoming increasingly concerned that the government’s budget does not provide school boards with sufficient funds for education, and that lack of funding will lead to larger class sizes and layoffs for first-year teachers.
The ATA discussed the effects of the government’s 2006 budget on classrooms, and debated the organization’s course of action, during its annual meeting on May 20.
"It has become clear that budget 2006 does not provide adequate funding to school jurisdictions and that this funding deficiency will result in boards taking steps such as reducing the number of teachers, larger class sizes, or running deficits," stated the ATA resolution.
"All of which are unacceptable in a province having successive multi-billion dollar surpluses." |
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