Alberta oil industry competitive despite carbon tax, says energy minister
'They understand what we're doing,' said Marg McCuaig-Boyd
Alberta Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd says the province's oil and gas industry remains competitive despite the adoption of a carbon tax.
"There are a lot of jurisdictions where they already pay a carbon levy or a cost of carbon, so they understand what we're doing," she said at the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary.
"Conversations on things like market access and pipelines have gotten a lot easier," McCuaig-Boyd said, adding that Alberta still remains competitive "when you look at the overall picture of tax."
The levy, to take effect Jan. 1, is one element of a climate-change strategy intended to reduce Alberta's carbon footprint and is expected to bring in $3 billion in 2017-18.
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The government has promised the proceeds will be used entirely for initiatives to help Alberta become more environmentally friendly — from small home-based changes to multibillion-dollar public transportation projects.
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McCuaig-Boyd was also asked about Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson's trip to Ottawa this week to demand the federal government reject the Trans Mountain expansion — calling the environmental review process "disastrous."
She would only say he is entitled to his opinion.
"My wish is that these pipelines are looked at as a safe manner of transporting oil. And it's not on the emotion or the politics, but on the merit of each project."
The National Energy Board has conditionally approved the pipeline, and the Liberal government has promised a final decision by mid-December.
$50 barrels
McCuaig-Boyd says she's getting a "somewhat hopeful" vibe at the Global Petroleum Show this year, as oil prices inch up over $50 a barrel.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci, however, said it's too early to tell what effect those elevated prices will have on the province's bottom line.
"So it means good things in terms of not being too high in our budget, projecting too high an amount, so we'll just hope that this is a new floor and it keeps going up," he said. "But as everybody in Alberta knows, and probably the world, as quickly as these things go can up they can go down."
Ceci also pointed out production in the oilsands was off by a million barrels in May, and half a million barrels in June.
He said that will have to be factored into the calculations.
With files from the CBC’s Allison Dempster and The Canadian Press