Yogi
09-16-2005, 08:45 PM
CALGARY (CP) - Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says the rest of Canada can forget about getting an extra slice of the province's energy windfall.
Klein dismissed a poll that suggested Canadians outside his oil-rich province want a share of the wealth being generated by soaring energy prices.
The situation is no different now than it was in the boom of 1980, he said.
"The rest of Canada was saying the same thing then: 'Give me, give me, give me,' " the premier said Friday. "Then the price of oil went down and the rest of Canada was wringing their hands in glee saying, 'You deserved it.' "
Klein noted no one came to Alberta's aid once the oil boom collapsed and many were left bankrupt after the Trudeau era's national energy program.
"They asked us to share in the good times, but they didn't offer to share during the very, very bad times," he said.
Klein also said Alberta is being prudent with its unbudgeted surplus because oil prices can be highly volatile. That's despite a report released this week by the Alberta Energy and Utilities board that predicts crude oil prices will remain at or above $50 US a barrel through 2009.
It also said Alberta's oil supply is expected to grow from 1.72 million barrels daily in 2004 to 2.8 million by 2014.
The premier rejected the prosperous projections. He said he believed analysts in 1980 who said oil would go to $60 a barrel at the time.
"And what happened? It went plummeting down. It went down so fast it was a severe shock."
Political analyst David Taras suggested Klein is probably reflecting the emotions of many Albertans, but said it's important to think further down the road.
"It's not enough to thumb your nose at the rest of the country (and) to say 'in 1980 it was like this,' " said Taras, who teaches at the University of Calgary.
The province can't pretend that multibillion-dollar surpluses are a surprise when Alberta's surpluses could tower over the federal government's for the next three to five years, he said.
Figuring out what to do with those funds is crucial.
"It's long past time for a major summit where you bring people from across the province and key people from across the country."
Taras suggested a major investment fund for science or medicine that would bring experts to the province to learn or do research, then take that knowledge back across the country.
Klein said Alberta already sends billions of dollars to Ottawa that is distributed to the rest of the country through equalization payments. It amounts to about $2,400 for every man, woman and child in the province.
But he said he doubts the federal Liberals will use Alberta's wealth as an issue in the upcoming election.
"They know that if Alberta's economic prosperity continues, they'll get more money through taxation," said the premier.
Earlier this week, Klein pledged to use part of the province's unbudgeted surplus for "prosperity" cheques to Albertans. He also pledged to put two-thirds of the surplus into endowment funds and rebuilding infrastructure.
Many outside the province don't realize Alberta's cities, schools and hospitals are mired in debt amassed over the belt-tightening years of the early 1990s, when Klein took steps to eliminate the province's debt.
Yet Klein exploded in frustration this week when Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the country's fastest-growing city needs more money from the province and is having to increase taxes to cover basic services.
Klein said Friday he's received $10 billion in funding requests - far more than even the most optimistic economic forecast is predicting for the current year's surplus.
Business leaders, political opponents and lobbyists are all pressuring the premier to come up with a long-range spending plan for the energy bonanza.
No surprise here. Last time I checked though, Alberta was still part of Canada but you wouldn't know it from Klein's remarks.
To be fair, one can't really fault Alberta for their stance. They got screwed by Trudeau's ill-fated National Energy Program and Albertans have long memories and have never forgotten that.
Having said that, they should share some (not all) of their oil revenue windfall with the rest of Canada.
Now why is this man smiling?? :hst:
Klein dismissed a poll that suggested Canadians outside his oil-rich province want a share of the wealth being generated by soaring energy prices.
The situation is no different now than it was in the boom of 1980, he said.
"The rest of Canada was saying the same thing then: 'Give me, give me, give me,' " the premier said Friday. "Then the price of oil went down and the rest of Canada was wringing their hands in glee saying, 'You deserved it.' "
Klein noted no one came to Alberta's aid once the oil boom collapsed and many were left bankrupt after the Trudeau era's national energy program.
"They asked us to share in the good times, but they didn't offer to share during the very, very bad times," he said.
Klein also said Alberta is being prudent with its unbudgeted surplus because oil prices can be highly volatile. That's despite a report released this week by the Alberta Energy and Utilities board that predicts crude oil prices will remain at or above $50 US a barrel through 2009.
It also said Alberta's oil supply is expected to grow from 1.72 million barrels daily in 2004 to 2.8 million by 2014.
The premier rejected the prosperous projections. He said he believed analysts in 1980 who said oil would go to $60 a barrel at the time.
"And what happened? It went plummeting down. It went down so fast it was a severe shock."
Political analyst David Taras suggested Klein is probably reflecting the emotions of many Albertans, but said it's important to think further down the road.
"It's not enough to thumb your nose at the rest of the country (and) to say 'in 1980 it was like this,' " said Taras, who teaches at the University of Calgary.
The province can't pretend that multibillion-dollar surpluses are a surprise when Alberta's surpluses could tower over the federal government's for the next three to five years, he said.
Figuring out what to do with those funds is crucial.
"It's long past time for a major summit where you bring people from across the province and key people from across the country."
Taras suggested a major investment fund for science or medicine that would bring experts to the province to learn or do research, then take that knowledge back across the country.
Klein said Alberta already sends billions of dollars to Ottawa that is distributed to the rest of the country through equalization payments. It amounts to about $2,400 for every man, woman and child in the province.
But he said he doubts the federal Liberals will use Alberta's wealth as an issue in the upcoming election.
"They know that if Alberta's economic prosperity continues, they'll get more money through taxation," said the premier.
Earlier this week, Klein pledged to use part of the province's unbudgeted surplus for "prosperity" cheques to Albertans. He also pledged to put two-thirds of the surplus into endowment funds and rebuilding infrastructure.
Many outside the province don't realize Alberta's cities, schools and hospitals are mired in debt amassed over the belt-tightening years of the early 1990s, when Klein took steps to eliminate the province's debt.
Yet Klein exploded in frustration this week when Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the country's fastest-growing city needs more money from the province and is having to increase taxes to cover basic services.
Klein said Friday he's received $10 billion in funding requests - far more than even the most optimistic economic forecast is predicting for the current year's surplus.
Business leaders, political opponents and lobbyists are all pressuring the premier to come up with a long-range spending plan for the energy bonanza.
No surprise here. Last time I checked though, Alberta was still part of Canada but you wouldn't know it from Klein's remarks.
To be fair, one can't really fault Alberta for their stance. They got screwed by Trudeau's ill-fated National Energy Program and Albertans have long memories and have never forgotten that.
Having said that, they should share some (not all) of their oil revenue windfall with the rest of Canada.
Now why is this man smiling?? :hst: