Rural Alberta politicians push back on abandoned well proposal, inaction on unpaid property taxes

Politicians from Alberta's counties and municipal districts are not happy with a proposed provincial program that would compel oil and gas companies to clean up abandoned wells by giving them royalty credits. 

Premier Danielle Smith promoted the program called R-Star when she was president of the Alberta Enterprise Group. 

Energy Minster Pete Guthrie said implementing an R-Star pilot project is one of his first priorities. 

But rural politicians are frustrated that Smith and her government want to use public dollars to make companies do what they are already obligated to do, especially when some of them owe counties and municipal districts $253 million in unpaid property taxes. 

Paul McLauchlin, Rural Municipalities of Alberta president and reeve of Ponoka County, had questions about the proposal and wondered who it is supposed to help. 

"It's exactly how a fox would design a henhouse," McLauchlin told reporters at a news conference Thursday. 

"Is it for Albertans or is it for the industry? And when I hear, 'Oh, it's decreasing environmental liabilities,' well, that's an obligation anyway."

RMA delegates lobbed tough questions about R-Star and unpaid taxes at Guthrie and other ministers during a question and answer session on the last day of the association's fall convention in Edmonton. 

"If I have an unpaid speeding ticket, I can't renew my licence," one delegate said, adding that the Alberta Energy Regulator should treat oil and gas companies with unpaid taxes the same way.

Guthrie responded that his ministry is gathering information and will work with Municipal Affairs to "explore all options."

McLauchlin said all the province needs to do is call each municipality because they know how much money is owed and who the bad apples are. 

"Some of our municipalities, their viability is in question," he said, noting that RMA has been pushing the province for the last three years to make the scofflaws face real consequences for not paying their taxes.

Last year, the province gave municipalities the power to issue special liens to recover some revenue but RMA says the process is complicated and doesn't work in all situations.

Smith speech 

The RMA ended its fall convention with a speech from Smith, that was largely devoid of any new announcements. 

Smith touched on health care, affordability, and responding to municipal concerns, including exploring ways to resolve the unpaid tax issue.

She also mentioned an idea she mentioned while campaigning for the UCP leadership — looking at changing the provincial education property tax so municipalities can keep some of it in their own communities. 

As for affordability, Smith reiterated promises to lower electricity bills and possibly remove the provincial fuel tax, a move the province temporarily made over the summer.

She announced that Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk would lead a new Premier's Advisory Task Force on Ukraine. Armstrong-Homeniuk has been asked to write a report by Jan. 15 on ways to help Ukrainian communities, and help newcomers from Ukraine settle in Alberta. 

The government also plans to host a Ukrainian roundtable in Edmonton on Monday.

The actions come after past comments made by Smith surfaced during her first week as premier. 

Smith made remarks during a livestream in April that blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and said the only answer for the country is "neutrality."

The premier eventually apologized, calling the comments "ill-informed."