McMurray expenditures out of line

The recent spending plumb for Fort McMurray highlights more than most tings exactly what is wrong with this Government. They are laying the path of paying more on our end of things to allow a token increase in royalties later on.

There was a time when a business starting up in a remote area would build a company town complete with commissary and nursing station. One example of this would be the Town of Devon, home of Leduc #1. Although, Devon’s growth, such as it was, was enhanced because the City of Leduc did not want all those foreign people living in their town. Foreign being people from other places in Canada.

The money being put into McMurray because of a totally mismanaged resource and a totally mismanaged expansion plan as in no plan at all is nothing short of a direct subsidy to the oil companies.

Next, you will find this Government adding public transportation, free to and from McMurray, a further relief of operational costs for the oil companies.

We are collecting 1% in royalties on all this new growth and putting 10% back into the project because “We are the United States only secure supply of oil” according to Mr. Stelmach.

New construction:
1 % in royalties
Components being built and transported from the Pacific Rim
Huge costs in Dredging Rivers and blowing up and removing rapids to allow transport by marine.
Mined Oil being shipping to the US for processing
A billion dollars infrastructure improvements ongoing to support the Oil companies.

It is my thought, if we pay for enough of the oil companies investment costs we will be able to get another one-half percent royalty. Rob Peter to pay Paul.

Stelmach and company do not plan on doing a dam thing with the oil royalty picture in this province.

John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca