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Taft hard on the job! A chance for Alberta.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
A good review and project on the oil sands
A good amount of research has been put into this article and it covers a broad range of implications from a different angle than I view it. Worth while reading!
john Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
john Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta royality review is a phony.
Alberta oil review charts need a careful read! This document is written so it can be represented as almost anything at a later date.
Oil Royality Rates comparison are taken in Canadian Dollars at a premium with the US dollar. When the Canadian dollar drops to .85 cents as it should be, these numbers will all drop 20% from where. They are.
For a realistic view of the numbers drop the projections down 2 lines!
If in his dealings with the oil companies he reverts to Canadian Dollars away from the USD as has been our standard we stand to loose billions, even on the short term.
When has this Government ever done anything for the population of this province? What they have done is enriched corporation without regard to the cost to individuals then, tell individuals they are getting a good deal not because of any reason but because they say so.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Oil Royality Rates comparison are taken in Canadian Dollars at a premium with the US dollar. When the Canadian dollar drops to .85 cents as it should be, these numbers will all drop 20% from where. They are.
For a realistic view of the numbers drop the projections down 2 lines!
If in his dealings with the oil companies he reverts to Canadian Dollars away from the USD as has been our standard we stand to loose billions, even on the short term.
When has this Government ever done anything for the population of this province? What they have done is enriched corporation without regard to the cost to individuals then, tell individuals they are getting a good deal not because of any reason but because they say so.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Vehicle years taken differently in Canada and US
What are you buying when you buy a US vehicle?
Canadian VIN numbers and year make is taken from the body of the vehicle.
US VIN numbers and body year is taken from the frame or under carriage.
Undercarriage and frames are built usually 1 year before the bodies.
A vehicle sold in the US as a 2007 model is actually a 2006 model when registered under a Canadian system.
This is more a paper/insurance thing than it is a mechanical issue thing.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Canadian VIN numbers and year make is taken from the body of the vehicle.
US VIN numbers and body year is taken from the frame or under carriage.
Undercarriage and frames are built usually 1 year before the bodies.
A vehicle sold in the US as a 2007 model is actually a 2006 model when registered under a Canadian system.
This is more a paper/insurance thing than it is a mechanical issue thing.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Alberta Electricty manipulated - again.
The Conservatives are up to their old games again. Destabilize by what ever means to give them the foundation for what ever change they propose.
Case in point:
It has been reported to the Calgary MLAs are talking about a series of on going brownouts in Alberta in the near future.
Appreciate brownouts don’t happen, they are caused. By accident, two generation stations may close at the same time for upgrade throwing the grid into a brownout condition.
The Conservatives know there is going to be brownouts they then know what to do to avoid them!
Why would these be deliberately triggered?
Their power line construction on the south corridor has been defeated by the public. They need this power line to export power.
By creating brownouts they will be in a position to make the case claiming it is because of the lack of power lines.
Fording Coal is nearly complete their environmental assessment for the building of a power generation plant near Brooks. This plant will be twice the size of Wabamum. The power it will generate will go to Calgary. It may well be complete by the time the power line is built.
AESO claim to have plans of reporting in place that will avoid any brownouts because of plant upgrades or maintenance. If this is true and the brownouts appear as predicted by the MLAs, I would say there is room for legal challenge for any costs accumulated because of a contrived power shortage.
If you have not watched the CBC production “Wise Guys in the Room” I would suggest you find a copy.
Brownouts will make a case for the power supply companies to raise your electrical rates even though their costs remain the same or are lower. They have no accountability unless you hold the city councils responsible and start lighting up their phones.
By the time this Government is trough, there will only be three or four industries in this province that are not servicing the oil patch. In addition to this the health care structure is organized for immediate sale or hand off.
If these guys don’t get out of office in a hurry the province will be owned outright by no more than a half dozen of their selected friends.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Case in point:
It has been reported to the Calgary MLAs are talking about a series of on going brownouts in Alberta in the near future.
Appreciate brownouts don’t happen, they are caused. By accident, two generation stations may close at the same time for upgrade throwing the grid into a brownout condition.
The Conservatives know there is going to be brownouts they then know what to do to avoid them!
Why would these be deliberately triggered?
Their power line construction on the south corridor has been defeated by the public. They need this power line to export power.
By creating brownouts they will be in a position to make the case claiming it is because of the lack of power lines.
Fording Coal is nearly complete their environmental assessment for the building of a power generation plant near Brooks. This plant will be twice the size of Wabamum. The power it will generate will go to Calgary. It may well be complete by the time the power line is built.
AESO claim to have plans of reporting in place that will avoid any brownouts because of plant upgrades or maintenance. If this is true and the brownouts appear as predicted by the MLAs, I would say there is room for legal challenge for any costs accumulated because of a contrived power shortage.
If you have not watched the CBC production “Wise Guys in the Room” I would suggest you find a copy.
Brownouts will make a case for the power supply companies to raise your electrical rates even though their costs remain the same or are lower. They have no accountability unless you hold the city councils responsible and start lighting up their phones.
By the time this Government is trough, there will only be three or four industries in this province that are not servicing the oil patch. In addition to this the health care structure is organized for immediate sale or hand off.
If these guys don’t get out of office in a hurry the province will be owned outright by no more than a half dozen of their selected friends.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, November 09, 2007
More power line rip off coming for Alberta Rate Payers
Does any one really think Alberta is going to come out 20% ahead? Not with this Government!
New plans filed with AESO for a 22 million dollar transmission line from McMurray for the use of North American Oilsands Leismer Facility near McMurray. Project to be built by ATCO. ATCO, headed by Mr. Laugheed who said recently Albertan's should not be expected to pay for all of the highway to McMurray.
This project is strictly to serve the oil companies.
Alberta taxpayers will be expected to pay 100% of this line under the Conservative Governments power line rules.
Beyond this, Stelmach's payment "in kind" trade for crude which is to be sold short or given free to the up graders will mean Albertan's are further in the hole after this deal than they were before it!
If this does not take all the change, it is worth while to note on thier propaganda charts the all the energy revenues with the exception of tar sands is posted in US dollars.
(The government has taken down their site with the .pdf forms showing their projections. This happened directly after I first pointed up the Canadian dollar figure in Tar Sands computations)
The tar sands has changed to Canadian dollars in this exercise of lies. By mid summer at the latest the Canadian Dollar is expected to be back at .85 cents, where it should be!
Couple this change in the exchange rate which will take place after the election with the rest of this circus and you will see there is nothing to be happy about; no win for the people of Alberta but a major loss. A giant Scam!
It would break a snakes back to follow this crew!
John Clark
Cyberclark@shaw.ca
New plans filed with AESO for a 22 million dollar transmission line from McMurray for the use of North American Oilsands Leismer Facility near McMurray. Project to be built by ATCO. ATCO, headed by Mr. Laugheed who said recently Albertan's should not be expected to pay for all of the highway to McMurray.
This project is strictly to serve the oil companies.
Alberta taxpayers will be expected to pay 100% of this line under the Conservative Governments power line rules.
Beyond this, Stelmach's payment "in kind" trade for crude which is to be sold short or given free to the up graders will mean Albertan's are further in the hole after this deal than they were before it!
If this does not take all the change, it is worth while to note on thier propaganda charts the all the energy revenues with the exception of tar sands is posted in US dollars.
(The government has taken down their site with the .pdf forms showing their projections. This happened directly after I first pointed up the Canadian dollar figure in Tar Sands computations)
The tar sands has changed to Canadian dollars in this exercise of lies. By mid summer at the latest the Canadian Dollar is expected to be back at .85 cents, where it should be!
Couple this change in the exchange rate which will take place after the election with the rest of this circus and you will see there is nothing to be happy about; no win for the people of Alberta but a major loss. A giant Scam!
It would break a snakes back to follow this crew!
John Clark
Cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Saskatchewan turns out 74% of eligible voters!
The Saskatchewan Party wave that began a decade ago in rural Saskatchewan swept into the cities in Wednesday’s provincial election and pushed the New Democratic Party out of power after 16 years.
74 percent of the eligible voters turned out to vote is the real big news. This can happen in Alberta too.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
74 percent of the eligible voters turned out to vote is the real big news. This can happen in Alberta too.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Northern shipping caught by early cold snap??
All is not what it seems in the northern marine world. Fort Good Hope did not get delivered. The reasons are a bit more complex but it could have been avoided.
The short story is that some one made a decision to keep one boat out of the water this year. This one boat did not have to be in the water all year, only for the last 10 days or so. In the past boats have been frozen in, in the north, the crews sent south to Hay River to man still another boat to finish the south end. Or, the boat could have been put on earlier in the year to accommodate the same thing.
The logistics are more complex than I have outlined but the process is the same. Management made a decision not to put the power in the water. That would be a profit and loss decision. The Government will pick up the entire tab and then some for the extra cost of flying and the extended crews to do this.
The weather makes an easy cop out.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=d738b89f-3f66-4db5-bf07-c07973069888
The short story is that some one made a decision to keep one boat out of the water this year. This one boat did not have to be in the water all year, only for the last 10 days or so. In the past boats have been frozen in, in the north, the crews sent south to Hay River to man still another boat to finish the south end. Or, the boat could have been put on earlier in the year to accommodate the same thing.
The logistics are more complex than I have outlined but the process is the same. Management made a decision not to put the power in the water. That would be a profit and loss decision. The Government will pick up the entire tab and then some for the extra cost of flying and the extended crews to do this.
The weather makes an easy cop out.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=d738b89f-3f66-4db5-bf07-c07973069888
Monday, November 05, 2007
Alberta Carbon Credits?
Carbon Credits – A money maker?
When you get BC and Alberta both looking at a form of carbon credit or carbon exchange you have to know it is a scam.
Under the Kyoto protocol every obvious thing is not a carbon credit. It takes some very serious study to see if you are in or out of favor.
For instance if you cut a stand of trees you loose carbon credit. If you replant a forest in its place you do not get a carbon credit because you lost it by cutting it. It is a loss.
If a company in the US cuts the emissions on a Coal Generation unit or enters into a carbon dioxide sump program they may have an excess of carbon credits that they can sell to a company in Canada.
Money changes hands in this case moving from Canada south. It is one way a company has of moving funds around regulators. A transfer of cash is now an investment, not a transfer of profits.
On the other extreme is China which has one of the most advanced electrical generation and transmission systems in the world. China works under a heavy burden of pollution of the coal generation which it is about the change, going to hydro generation with the biggest hydro dam in the world. This should replace some coal generation.
The result is that China will very shortly have multi billions of dollars of carbon credits for sale. Companies in Alberta who change nothing will be able to produce a good picture on paper by buying credits from China.
Environment is on every ones mind. Some on how to protect it others on how to exploit it. Case in point Alberta’s electrical system.
A group of like minded Conservatives met in Lethbridge and decided the best way to curtail the use of power was to increase the price so people could not afford to use it. No consideration was given to distinguish between needed use and frivalent use.
With climate change pushing up our summer heat extremes, air conditioning I think is a necessity but, under the Alberta scheme you will cook rather than turn it on. On the other hand our mean temperatures in the winter are much lower than our competitors in the south. It costs us much more electricity to heat our homes. Competative or not, suck it up is the view.
You can look forward to both Epcor and Enmax pushing their rates ever higher with a view to curtailing your use while targeting the surplus power saved for export at still higher premiums.
Epcor is owned by the City of Edmonton and Enmax is owned by the City of Calgary. All profits are in effect indirect taxation.
Because they are separate companies the councilors can throw their aprons over their faces and say it is out of their control which is a lie.
When you get BC and Alberta both looking at a form of carbon credit or carbon exchange you have to know it is a scam.
Under the Kyoto protocol every obvious thing is not a carbon credit. It takes some very serious study to see if you are in or out of favor.
For instance if you cut a stand of trees you loose carbon credit. If you replant a forest in its place you do not get a carbon credit because you lost it by cutting it. It is a loss.
If a company in the US cuts the emissions on a Coal Generation unit or enters into a carbon dioxide sump program they may have an excess of carbon credits that they can sell to a company in Canada.
Money changes hands in this case moving from Canada south. It is one way a company has of moving funds around regulators. A transfer of cash is now an investment, not a transfer of profits.
On the other extreme is China which has one of the most advanced electrical generation and transmission systems in the world. China works under a heavy burden of pollution of the coal generation which it is about the change, going to hydro generation with the biggest hydro dam in the world. This should replace some coal generation.
The result is that China will very shortly have multi billions of dollars of carbon credits for sale. Companies in Alberta who change nothing will be able to produce a good picture on paper by buying credits from China.
Environment is on every ones mind. Some on how to protect it others on how to exploit it. Case in point Alberta’s electrical system.
A group of like minded Conservatives met in Lethbridge and decided the best way to curtail the use of power was to increase the price so people could not afford to use it. No consideration was given to distinguish between needed use and frivalent use.
With climate change pushing up our summer heat extremes, air conditioning I think is a necessity but, under the Alberta scheme you will cook rather than turn it on. On the other hand our mean temperatures in the winter are much lower than our competitors in the south. It costs us much more electricity to heat our homes. Competative or not, suck it up is the view.
You can look forward to both Epcor and Enmax pushing their rates ever higher with a view to curtailing your use while targeting the surplus power saved for export at still higher premiums.
Epcor is owned by the City of Edmonton and Enmax is owned by the City of Calgary. All profits are in effect indirect taxation.
Because they are separate companies the councilors can throw their aprons over their faces and say it is out of their control which is a lie.
Private Health Care in Alberta alive and well.
In answer to enquiries regarding health care privatization:
Yes, the health regions are private companies and run like private companies. You will find the Minister of Health will avoid entering into any conversation regarding a complaint about the system. He refers all to Capital Health or the appropriate division.
The so called prototypical hospitals that dot Alberta’s landscape from elections past are run by a hospital board. The way these arrangements are structured the hospital boards own the hospital. The Government keeps an eye on the funding totals.
The structure is set up so any hospital, any part of a hospital, any health region can be sold all or in part to who ever the Government decides on selling it to. The Health region is responsible for building new hospitals. That is not to say they cannot sell the same new multi billion hospital to still another private company for a dollar.
The rules in this kind of transaction ring familiar. The Health Region must get a “fair value” for Alberta.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Yes, the health regions are private companies and run like private companies. You will find the Minister of Health will avoid entering into any conversation regarding a complaint about the system. He refers all to Capital Health or the appropriate division.
The so called prototypical hospitals that dot Alberta’s landscape from elections past are run by a hospital board. The way these arrangements are structured the hospital boards own the hospital. The Government keeps an eye on the funding totals.
The structure is set up so any hospital, any part of a hospital, any health region can be sold all or in part to who ever the Government decides on selling it to. The Health region is responsible for building new hospitals. That is not to say they cannot sell the same new multi billion hospital to still another private company for a dollar.
The rules in this kind of transaction ring familiar. The Health Region must get a “fair value” for Alberta.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Alberta - Half of available water going to Oil
Really superb article by Hanneke Brooymans, The Edmonton Journal
Quote in part:
"We have no idea what the effects of all these allocations might be," said Bill Donahue, an independent water research scientist who has worked with renowned ecologist David Schindler.
"What I think is most alarming is that the province has never had any plan for development in Alberta, and they continue to approve and promote very water-intensive industries, and again they have minimal understanding of their water supply.
They have no understanding of the effects of climate change and what they're going to be on the water supplies of Alberta."
Another factor is the consumptive use of the up graders. They will use the water to produce steam, some of which will evaporate from cooling towers. And about 20 to 25 per cent will be used to make hydrogen, said Peter Symons, a Petro-Canada spokesman.
If this figure is applied to the water licenses for all the up graders, up to 25 billion liters of river water a year could be used to produce hydrogen. That would be water that doesn't return to the river.
Petro-Canada has opted to use treated waste water from a regional treatment plant to lessen its overall environmental impact.
This offers an explanation to a lot of things. For instance, the amount of electrical power it will take to turn this amount of water into Hydrogen and Oxygen or Hydrogen. In some of the popular programs there is a large amount of Carbon Dioxide made. This is usually pumped down hole into underground or under water storage.
This of course leaves the door open for the Conservatives to offer further tax breaks to the Oil Companies as the “Carbon Credit Made In Alberta Plan” where apparently no money is to be paid out for buying carbon credits.
Under Kyoto, this type of carbon saving would not be allowed. The carbon is being taken from a “bound” source. That is the carbon is not loose in the atmosphere. In effect this process as far as carbon dioxide is concerned does nothing for the environment.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Quote in part:
"We have no idea what the effects of all these allocations might be," said Bill Donahue, an independent water research scientist who has worked with renowned ecologist David Schindler.
"What I think is most alarming is that the province has never had any plan for development in Alberta, and they continue to approve and promote very water-intensive industries, and again they have minimal understanding of their water supply.
They have no understanding of the effects of climate change and what they're going to be on the water supplies of Alberta."
Another factor is the consumptive use of the up graders. They will use the water to produce steam, some of which will evaporate from cooling towers. And about 20 to 25 per cent will be used to make hydrogen, said Peter Symons, a Petro-Canada spokesman.
If this figure is applied to the water licenses for all the up graders, up to 25 billion liters of river water a year could be used to produce hydrogen. That would be water that doesn't return to the river.
Petro-Canada has opted to use treated waste water from a regional treatment plant to lessen its overall environmental impact.
This offers an explanation to a lot of things. For instance, the amount of electrical power it will take to turn this amount of water into Hydrogen and Oxygen or Hydrogen. In some of the popular programs there is a large amount of Carbon Dioxide made. This is usually pumped down hole into underground or under water storage.
This of course leaves the door open for the Conservatives to offer further tax breaks to the Oil Companies as the “Carbon Credit Made In Alberta Plan” where apparently no money is to be paid out for buying carbon credits.
Under Kyoto, this type of carbon saving would not be allowed. The carbon is being taken from a “bound” source. That is the carbon is not loose in the atmosphere. In effect this process as far as carbon dioxide is concerned does nothing for the environment.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Alberta right wing parties appear to split the votes.
We have two new right wing parties showing up to win over the goose stepping hearts of Alberta.
The Alberta Alliance is further right wing than the present Blue Conservatives. They support all the Fraser Institute ideals of a fence around Alberta. These people in my mind represent the very worst kind of extreme there is. Private police forces, walk away from the Canada Pension Plan. A separate country if need be.
In brief they are a bunch of fundamentalists who want the power for themselves and, what ever harp they play or what ever drum they beat they will, to get that power.
The Wild Rose Party is another right wing goose stepping outfit. There is no such thing as social conservatives any more.
Both parties enjoy the support of the Stelmach Government. Anything that will split the vote is a good thing for them.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca.
The Alberta Alliance is further right wing than the present Blue Conservatives. They support all the Fraser Institute ideals of a fence around Alberta. These people in my mind represent the very worst kind of extreme there is. Private police forces, walk away from the Canada Pension Plan. A separate country if need be.
In brief they are a bunch of fundamentalists who want the power for themselves and, what ever harp they play or what ever drum they beat they will, to get that power.
The Wild Rose Party is another right wing goose stepping outfit. There is no such thing as social conservatives any more.
Both parties enjoy the support of the Stelmach Government. Anything that will split the vote is a good thing for them.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca.
Alberta muzzels protests!
Bill 46 which comes up for final reading this sitting and will be pushed through by Stelmach and his energy companies will eliminate the right to protest in regards to the power schemes and, will also impact by way of precedence the right to protest the privatization of water and the associated pipelines.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
Monday, October 29, 2007
The US exchange is part of the Royality scam
It is worth while to note the constant sell out of Alberta by this Government.
For nearly 20 years the price of oil has been in US dollars.
Now, all of Stelmach’s paper is quoting Canadian Dollars.
Canadian dollar expected to be back to 85 cents next year. Who picks up the other 15 percent of Stelmach's numbers? Guess!
With the view that the Canadian dollar supremacy will be short lived one can assume that a further discount in royalties will be given the oil companies in the field of currency exchange.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
For nearly 20 years the price of oil has been in US dollars.
Now, all of Stelmach’s paper is quoting Canadian Dollars.
Canadian dollar expected to be back to 85 cents next year. Who picks up the other 15 percent of Stelmach's numbers? Guess!
With the view that the Canadian dollar supremacy will be short lived one can assume that a further discount in royalties will be given the oil companies in the field of currency exchange.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta Election Agenda
Keep in mind the Government in Power has the advantage in the Election because they can choose the agenda. If that same agenda is ripped way from them by the opposition they will probably loose or come close to it.
Royalty review with rubber numbers and little substance is an Agenda setter. Whether or not it will succeed is pretty much in your hands.
Don’t forget the goals of this Government it to further privatize health care; privatize the water and water distribution, privatize the penal system and, the police force. (There is no legislation in place supporting the highway sheriffs and the Health Authorities have written up services to uninsured).
Never in your life in Alberta has your vote been more important and at no point in our history can your vote make such a difference.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Royalty review with rubber numbers and little substance is an Agenda setter. Whether or not it will succeed is pretty much in your hands.
Don’t forget the goals of this Government it to further privatize health care; privatize the water and water distribution, privatize the penal system and, the police force. (There is no legislation in place supporting the highway sheriffs and the Health Authorities have written up services to uninsured).
Never in your life in Alberta has your vote been more important and at no point in our history can your vote make such a difference.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta Oil reaches 94.00 per bbl
Oil reaches 94.00 per bbl US
Under present reduced conditions (19%) created by Stelmach
Alberta gets 17.86 cents
Oil companies take away 76.74
This will continue until 20.10 causing Alberta to loose over 50 billions of dollars.
Under the schedule as it was defined (25%)
Alberta would get 23.50
Oil companies take away 70.50
Under Stelmach’s BS 20% increase paid in “like funds” or bitumen Alberta will be taking home between 20. and 23 dollars after the bitumen is sold short to the up-graders.
Stelmach’s deal is no deal at all. If anything it further reducing Alberta’s share in the resources.
Eastern financial papers are saying “How much does Alberta Need” rather than saying “Alberta is entitled to”
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Under present reduced conditions (19%) created by Stelmach
Alberta gets 17.86 cents
Oil companies take away 76.74
This will continue until 20.10 causing Alberta to loose over 50 billions of dollars.
Under the schedule as it was defined (25%)
Alberta would get 23.50
Oil companies take away 70.50
Under Stelmach’s BS 20% increase paid in “like funds” or bitumen Alberta will be taking home between 20. and 23 dollars after the bitumen is sold short to the up-graders.
Stelmach’s deal is no deal at all. If anything it further reducing Alberta’s share in the resources.
Eastern financial papers are saying “How much does Alberta Need” rather than saying “Alberta is entitled to”
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Alberta Royality Scam-Consequence
If my assumptions are correct and the whole Royalty show is a carefully organized scam it would follow there is room here for the R.C.M.P. and the securities people to investigate what would be insider trading for those who manipulated stocks and then picked them up cheap. Hardly speculation!
The people on the Royalty Committee were taken unfair advantage of if this is the case.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The people on the Royalty Committee were taken unfair advantage of if this is the case.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta Conservatives want you to trust them!
Vote for me again and just maybe I will do something for the citizens of this province!
The window Stelmach has given, moving into 2010 will put them past another election and, depending on what the oil companies say, the scaled increases will be put in place. He would like you to move forward with warm and fuzzy thoughts and, no substance.
This sounds a lot like the last election when they were fighting privatizing health care. 23% (We) voted them back in and yes, the health care is now privatized! The Health Care regions are set up as private corporations, hospitals are owned by the board members and Capital health has completed lists for un insuring segments health care. Buy more insurance is the mantra.
The “New” Royalty Regime” is still another exercise in creating projects with no accountability. Rather than go to the voter and say “we want you to subsidize oil up-graders” they will now take bitumen as currency and give this bitumen to the up-graders at reduced rates. I would guess rather than getting a dollar on this product we will be getting 50 or 70 cents. It is after all in line with the cost plus operation they put in on every one of their projects assuring their friends will walk away with the coin.
Another blind spot to be exploited is the taxation. 1.4 billion is only a very small percentage of the total amount of money in play in the tar sands. One could call it a miniscule amount. As such, it would be very easy to give back every cent of this money in tax breaks.
There is no mention of the oil companies paying the billions for the road upgrade into McMurray. At these rates it will take years to pay for while the rest of Alberta goes short in infrastructure. Infrastructure was deliberately short funded to open the door for 3PO schemes. Private companies build and maintain them leasing them back to the state. If it doesn't work the state is stuck with the bundle, in effect paying twice.
Remember, there is no accounting of what is an expense in the tar sands. What ever they put in for is okay and this Government steadfastly refuses to put in guidelines or do any expense audit.
Allowed to proceed on the track they have chosen there will be a huge amount of dollars bundling into the oil company coffers and, Ottawa will be reaching in to take up the slack.
Predictable the Alberta Conservatives will scream foul citing another NEP where in truth it will be a disaster of their own making, failing to take a reasonable cut from the resource.
I still think this has been one large dog and pony show brining us with much fan fair to a point where we get nothing.
I am so looking forward to the Parkland Institute analysis of the numbers.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The window Stelmach has given, moving into 2010 will put them past another election and, depending on what the oil companies say, the scaled increases will be put in place. He would like you to move forward with warm and fuzzy thoughts and, no substance.
This sounds a lot like the last election when they were fighting privatizing health care. 23% (We) voted them back in and yes, the health care is now privatized! The Health Care regions are set up as private corporations, hospitals are owned by the board members and Capital health has completed lists for un insuring segments health care. Buy more insurance is the mantra.
The “New” Royalty Regime” is still another exercise in creating projects with no accountability. Rather than go to the voter and say “we want you to subsidize oil up-graders” they will now take bitumen as currency and give this bitumen to the up-graders at reduced rates. I would guess rather than getting a dollar on this product we will be getting 50 or 70 cents. It is after all in line with the cost plus operation they put in on every one of their projects assuring their friends will walk away with the coin.
Another blind spot to be exploited is the taxation. 1.4 billion is only a very small percentage of the total amount of money in play in the tar sands. One could call it a miniscule amount. As such, it would be very easy to give back every cent of this money in tax breaks.
There is no mention of the oil companies paying the billions for the road upgrade into McMurray. At these rates it will take years to pay for while the rest of Alberta goes short in infrastructure. Infrastructure was deliberately short funded to open the door for 3PO schemes. Private companies build and maintain them leasing them back to the state. If it doesn't work the state is stuck with the bundle, in effect paying twice.
Remember, there is no accounting of what is an expense in the tar sands. What ever they put in for is okay and this Government steadfastly refuses to put in guidelines or do any expense audit.
Allowed to proceed on the track they have chosen there will be a huge amount of dollars bundling into the oil company coffers and, Ottawa will be reaching in to take up the slack.
Predictable the Alberta Conservatives will scream foul citing another NEP where in truth it will be a disaster of their own making, failing to take a reasonable cut from the resource.
I still think this has been one large dog and pony show brining us with much fan fair to a point where we get nothing.
I am so looking forward to the Parkland Institute analysis of the numbers.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Alberta Premier speaks. Con Man robs Alberta.
Global 8 said it all last night. Sterling example of “Negative Journalism”
As the lead in to their 11 PM news we were told that Premier Stelmach spoke to the people of Alberta promptly followed by “A Con Man fleeces Alberta” or, similar. “More news at 11”
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
As the lead in to their 11 PM news we were told that Premier Stelmach spoke to the people of Alberta promptly followed by “A Con Man fleeces Alberta” or, similar. “More news at 11”
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Alberta Royality homework done by Parkland Institute!
Review panel actually plans sharp drop in royaltiesTo get its fair share, Alberta must heed Lougheed's advice:
'Think like an owner'By Gordon Laxer for The Edmonton JournalPublished October 22, 2007
Albertans have been led astray by the heated rhetoric around the recommendations of the royalty review panel's Our Fair Share. Rather than increasing royalties by 20 per cent as headlines tell the public, the panel's recommendations would, if fully implemented, reduce them by 20 per cent by 2016.
That's right. According to the review panel, its proposals would have Alberta collect $2 billion less per year nine years from now, even though oilsands production is projected to more than double.
Alberta would collect only $7.6 billion in 2016, compared to $9.5 billion in royalties in 2006. And that doesn't seem to take inflation into account, meaning that in real dollars the province's royalty revenues would fall more.
Where does the promised extra $2 billion from the review panel come from, then? Without the panel's recommendations, royalties would drop even further -- to $5.6 billion. The status quo would mean a drop of $4 billion or 42 per cent, whereas the panel's plan means a drop of 20 per cent.
The net drop in the review panel's royalty revenues can be partially explained by the forecast royalty cuts on conventional oil and gas. Natural gas revenues are projected to fall by over 50 per cent, or over $3 billion per year, even though production is projected to drop by only 14.5 per cent. A royalty shortfall is also projected in oilsands production, which is expected to rise by 111 per cent, while royalties rise by only 81 per cent.
These are hardly the increases that will drive the oil corporations out of Alberta. The forecast drop in Alberta's royalty take comes at a time when practically every other oil jurisdiction in the world is substantially jacking up its rates.
Why? Because they can. The world oil price quadrupled in the past five years, leaving so much more room for economic rent.
Rents or royalties are not taxes. They are the unearned profits due to owners, in our case, Albertans, not to the service contractors, the oil corporations. The latter have temporarily leased land from us, the owners. As Peter Lougheed wisely advised, "think like an owner."
As a homeowner, you hire a contractor to redecorate your kitchen. You pay the contractor enough, including the going profit rate, to entice him to do the work, but no more.
The value of your house goes up, partly because of the improved kitchen. But you, the owner, get all of the increased value of the house. The contractor gets none of it.
A royalty, or economic rent, is that increased value, the difference between the price and the costs; the costs already include a normal profit rate.
It's the same way with oil and gas. Oil corporations are the service contractors. We Albertans are the owners. Think like an owner.
We should not accept that Alberta must compete only by offering big oil lower royalties than elsewhere. The panel report admits that if its recommendations are accepted, Albertans will still get less than American states.
Why? It's totally unnecessary. Alberta does not need to be in the bottom half of oil and gas jurisdictions in royalty takes. Eighty per cent of the world's oil is in government hands and off limits to private investors. According to Jeff Rubin, chief economist for CIBC, the oilsands represent over half of all oil reserves in the world that are open to private investment. Alberta is in a very strong bargaining position.
Alberta has lots of advantages: political stability, First World infrastructure, proximity to oil markets. We do not need low royalties to compete. That would offer an unfair share to Albertans.
Promoters of big oil present two faces, one to the public and another to oil corporations. The scary face tells the public, "Don't raise royalties or you will kill the golden goose." The happy face tells a different story to select audiences.
Last October, Murray Smith, Alberta's representative to the U.S., told a prestigious oil executive audience in the States, "the royalty structure for oilsands is we 'give it away' at a one-per-cent royalty structure."
Roland Priddle, former head of the National Energy Board, based in Calgary, pitched Alberta to Texas oil executives as a place to invest last year by asking "where else can you purchase in-place oil (well, bitumen) for one cent a barrel?"
Big oil portrays the review panel as radical. The language of Bill Hunter, the panel's chair, sounds like he took a tough position: "As Albertans, we own 100 per cent of the resource, and we should expect nothing less than 100 per cent of the rent. It's up to industry to convince us that we should take a decrease." Exactly right.
But unfortunately, the review panel failed to take up those noble ideas in its very timid report.
It was in the spirit of Hunter's remarks, and the shortcomings of the panel's report, that Parkland Institute issued its report Selling Albertans Short, by Diana Gibson.
The review panel's recommendations are far too timid. The oil corporations don't like the review panel's report because royalties would fall by another $2 billion, if the status quo prevailed. Are there any limits to how much unearned profits big oil corporations are prepared to fight for, even if they are not the owners?
Parkland Institute was the first voice to say that Alberta's royalty rate was way too low. Our 1999 report, Giving Away the Alberta Advantage, was the first to compare Alberta's take with Norway's and with U.S. states such as Alaska.
Parkland recommended a yearly review of royalty rates and comparisons with other countries. We applaud the review panel for taking up this cause. Albertans deserve full disclosure.
Parkland's 1999 report showed that Alberta was receiving half the royalty rate in the 1990s that it did under Peter Lougheed's regime.
Premier Lougheed was courageous enough to double royalty rates in 1972, when prices were low, not to lower them by 20 per cent as the panel is recommending.
The oil corporations were outraged and carried out a scare campaign, much like we see today. In fact, many of the leaders of today's scare campaigns are the same ones who threatened to leave in 1972 if royalties were increased. But the Lougheed Conservatives toughed it out, and farsightedly used higher royalties to set up the Heritage Fund.
Don't sell Albertans short. Where is today's Peter Lougheed when we need him or her?
Gordon Laxer is the director and co-founder of Parkland Institute and a professor of political economy at the University of Alberta.
********************************************************************PARKLAND INSTITUTE - website http://www.ualberta.ca/parkland Edmonton Office: 11045 Saskatchewan Drive, T6G 2E1Phone: (780) 492-8558 Fax:(780) 492-8738 email: parkland@ualberta.ca Calgary Office: 2919 - 8 Avenue NW, T2N 1C8 Phone: (403) 270-9669 Fax (403) 283-6480 email: parkcalg@ualberta.ca Parkland's 11th Annual Fall ConferenceFrom Crisis to Hope: Building Just and Sustainable Communities November 16-18, 2007University of Alberta Campus, in EdmontonDetails will be posted on our website when available.
'Think like an owner'By Gordon Laxer for The Edmonton JournalPublished October 22, 2007
Albertans have been led astray by the heated rhetoric around the recommendations of the royalty review panel's Our Fair Share. Rather than increasing royalties by 20 per cent as headlines tell the public, the panel's recommendations would, if fully implemented, reduce them by 20 per cent by 2016.
That's right. According to the review panel, its proposals would have Alberta collect $2 billion less per year nine years from now, even though oilsands production is projected to more than double.
Alberta would collect only $7.6 billion in 2016, compared to $9.5 billion in royalties in 2006. And that doesn't seem to take inflation into account, meaning that in real dollars the province's royalty revenues would fall more.
Where does the promised extra $2 billion from the review panel come from, then? Without the panel's recommendations, royalties would drop even further -- to $5.6 billion. The status quo would mean a drop of $4 billion or 42 per cent, whereas the panel's plan means a drop of 20 per cent.
The net drop in the review panel's royalty revenues can be partially explained by the forecast royalty cuts on conventional oil and gas. Natural gas revenues are projected to fall by over 50 per cent, or over $3 billion per year, even though production is projected to drop by only 14.5 per cent. A royalty shortfall is also projected in oilsands production, which is expected to rise by 111 per cent, while royalties rise by only 81 per cent.
These are hardly the increases that will drive the oil corporations out of Alberta. The forecast drop in Alberta's royalty take comes at a time when practically every other oil jurisdiction in the world is substantially jacking up its rates.
Why? Because they can. The world oil price quadrupled in the past five years, leaving so much more room for economic rent.
Rents or royalties are not taxes. They are the unearned profits due to owners, in our case, Albertans, not to the service contractors, the oil corporations. The latter have temporarily leased land from us, the owners. As Peter Lougheed wisely advised, "think like an owner."
As a homeowner, you hire a contractor to redecorate your kitchen. You pay the contractor enough, including the going profit rate, to entice him to do the work, but no more.
The value of your house goes up, partly because of the improved kitchen. But you, the owner, get all of the increased value of the house. The contractor gets none of it.
A royalty, or economic rent, is that increased value, the difference between the price and the costs; the costs already include a normal profit rate.
It's the same way with oil and gas. Oil corporations are the service contractors. We Albertans are the owners. Think like an owner.
We should not accept that Alberta must compete only by offering big oil lower royalties than elsewhere. The panel report admits that if its recommendations are accepted, Albertans will still get less than American states.
Why? It's totally unnecessary. Alberta does not need to be in the bottom half of oil and gas jurisdictions in royalty takes. Eighty per cent of the world's oil is in government hands and off limits to private investors. According to Jeff Rubin, chief economist for CIBC, the oilsands represent over half of all oil reserves in the world that are open to private investment. Alberta is in a very strong bargaining position.
Alberta has lots of advantages: political stability, First World infrastructure, proximity to oil markets. We do not need low royalties to compete. That would offer an unfair share to Albertans.
Promoters of big oil present two faces, one to the public and another to oil corporations. The scary face tells the public, "Don't raise royalties or you will kill the golden goose." The happy face tells a different story to select audiences.
Last October, Murray Smith, Alberta's representative to the U.S., told a prestigious oil executive audience in the States, "the royalty structure for oilsands is we 'give it away' at a one-per-cent royalty structure."
Roland Priddle, former head of the National Energy Board, based in Calgary, pitched Alberta to Texas oil executives as a place to invest last year by asking "where else can you purchase in-place oil (well, bitumen) for one cent a barrel?"
Big oil portrays the review panel as radical. The language of Bill Hunter, the panel's chair, sounds like he took a tough position: "As Albertans, we own 100 per cent of the resource, and we should expect nothing less than 100 per cent of the rent. It's up to industry to convince us that we should take a decrease." Exactly right.
But unfortunately, the review panel failed to take up those noble ideas in its very timid report.
It was in the spirit of Hunter's remarks, and the shortcomings of the panel's report, that Parkland Institute issued its report Selling Albertans Short, by Diana Gibson.
The review panel's recommendations are far too timid. The oil corporations don't like the review panel's report because royalties would fall by another $2 billion, if the status quo prevailed. Are there any limits to how much unearned profits big oil corporations are prepared to fight for, even if they are not the owners?
Parkland Institute was the first voice to say that Alberta's royalty rate was way too low. Our 1999 report, Giving Away the Alberta Advantage, was the first to compare Alberta's take with Norway's and with U.S. states such as Alaska.
Parkland recommended a yearly review of royalty rates and comparisons with other countries. We applaud the review panel for taking up this cause. Albertans deserve full disclosure.
Parkland's 1999 report showed that Alberta was receiving half the royalty rate in the 1990s that it did under Peter Lougheed's regime.
Premier Lougheed was courageous enough to double royalty rates in 1972, when prices were low, not to lower them by 20 per cent as the panel is recommending.
The oil corporations were outraged and carried out a scare campaign, much like we see today. In fact, many of the leaders of today's scare campaigns are the same ones who threatened to leave in 1972 if royalties were increased. But the Lougheed Conservatives toughed it out, and farsightedly used higher royalties to set up the Heritage Fund.
Don't sell Albertans short. Where is today's Peter Lougheed when we need him or her?
Gordon Laxer is the director and co-founder of Parkland Institute and a professor of political economy at the University of Alberta.
********************************************************************PARKLAND INSTITUTE - website http://www.ualberta.ca/parkland Edmonton Office: 11045 Saskatchewan Drive, T6G 2E1Phone: (780) 492-8558 Fax:(780) 492-8738 email: parkland@ualberta.ca Calgary Office: 2919 - 8 Avenue NW, T2N 1C8 Phone: (403) 270-9669 Fax (403) 283-6480 email: parkcalg@ualberta.ca Parkland's 11th Annual Fall ConferenceFrom Crisis to Hope: Building Just and Sustainable Communities November 16-18, 2007University of Alberta Campus, in EdmontonDetails will be posted on our website when available.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Alberta gauges for Slippery Eddies speach
It is time to put out some gauges for Slippery Eddies coming address to Albertans.
Alberta royalties for tar sands were set up as 25% of profits on completed oil projects.
Slipper Eddie has reduced these to just 19% over the past year.
In order to get back to the incredibly low rate of 25%, Slippery Eddie would say in his coming speech “We will increase our royalties by 30%” Such a deal!
If on the other hand, the recommended increase of 20% was applied to the take on the 25% it would increase Alberta Royalty to 30% for the final figure.
If, however the 20% was added to the present 25% that would give Alberta Treasury 45% for the royalty collected on the tar sands.
It is my bet that Slippery Eddie will not give you a final figure and will lowball the application of the numbers. IF HE HAS NO FINAL FIGURE YOU KNOW HE IS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH!
This is a provincial resource. When it is gone, there is no more! It is not renewable!
Here is a Government map on tar sands projects. What is notable is the amount of area dependent on so very little water. What is not shown is the huge amount of free natural gas burned up in the process.
“My decision will be in the interests of Albertans as it always is”
When has this Government ever had the interests of Albertans at heart?
Why is it that this Government asks for closed bids then, never publishes who bid or who the bids were awarded to? I call it theft!
Otherwise why do they have to seal court documents to cover their tracks?
Where was the interest in our well being when they legislated we should pay for all the power lines used to supply the oil sands and all the power lines which sole purpose is to export electricity to the USA?
Where was the interest when the Federal and Provincial Governments put millions into up grading camp grounds then sold them to their short list of friends for hundreds or thousands of dollars?
Where was the interest of Albertans when the state owned power lines were ripped away for us returning 1 cent on a dollar of value or less?
This crew has something on their minds but it is not to the benefit of this province!
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
Alberta royalties for tar sands were set up as 25% of profits on completed oil projects.
Slipper Eddie has reduced these to just 19% over the past year.
In order to get back to the incredibly low rate of 25%, Slippery Eddie would say in his coming speech “We will increase our royalties by 30%” Such a deal!
If on the other hand, the recommended increase of 20% was applied to the take on the 25% it would increase Alberta Royalty to 30% for the final figure.
If, however the 20% was added to the present 25% that would give Alberta Treasury 45% for the royalty collected on the tar sands.
It is my bet that Slippery Eddie will not give you a final figure and will lowball the application of the numbers. IF HE HAS NO FINAL FIGURE YOU KNOW HE IS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH!
This is a provincial resource. When it is gone, there is no more! It is not renewable!
Here is a Government map on tar sands projects. What is notable is the amount of area dependent on so very little water. What is not shown is the huge amount of free natural gas burned up in the process.
“My decision will be in the interests of Albertans as it always is”
When has this Government ever had the interests of Albertans at heart?
Why is it that this Government asks for closed bids then, never publishes who bid or who the bids were awarded to? I call it theft!
Otherwise why do they have to seal court documents to cover their tracks?
Where was the interest in our well being when they legislated we should pay for all the power lines used to supply the oil sands and all the power lines which sole purpose is to export electricity to the USA?
Where was the interest when the Federal and Provincial Governments put millions into up grading camp grounds then sold them to their short list of friends for hundreds or thousands of dollars?
Where was the interest of Albertans when the state owned power lines were ripped away for us returning 1 cent on a dollar of value or less?
This crew has something on their minds but it is not to the benefit of this province!
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
Monday, October 15, 2007
Higher royalties will not hurt profit picture.
Financial report outlines the very high profitability of the oil sands, not to be deterred by higher royalties.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Conservatives are covering their tracks!
Today a headline reads “Czar of Alberta Electrical Deregulation resigns” along with “conflict of interest cited” and “Minister can not make any other comments”
Also in another paper is an add for still another Conservative agency. This one is being called the AUC or Alberta Utility Commission which is to do away with the Alberta Energy Board.
A corner stone of the privatization plan of the above Czar was top break up Alberta’s generation capacity into blocks to be sold individually. These were known as “Power Purchase Agreements or, PPAs.
The power very much ended up with the two cities, Calgary and Edmonton. Enmax and Epcor. But, there as a number of less profitable generation facilities that were not picked up in the “public” auction. These I was advised were picked up by “The Power Corp” which you are more familiar with as being the group Mazankowsky belongs to.
This group is not known for bad decisions or welfare payouts to Government. One has to ask how much did the taxpayers pay them to pick up these worse than useless options?
Much troubling to me is the flipping or quick buys and sells of PPA for the sole purpose of pocketing a bunch of money. (Multi millions thought to have been absconded)
This was advertised as being “public” but like the park hand offs the opening of any such tenders was done behind closed doors and no word was given as to who all bid and what were the prices bid.
Once the initial sale was made by the Government it was out of their hands and the paper could be sold for what ever; gouging the electrical system. Money that should have been in the public tax fund was swiftly channeled into “friends” pockets.
There has been no public accounting of who bid and who got what.
What we do know is the majority of the electricity ended up with the cities which I think is what was planned from the onset.
So, if it was planned to end up like this, why were intermediate bids was needed for purposes other than lining some ones pockets?
Now it is a time for restructure, burn the evidence and, pull the resignation of the author of this scam.
Only the Attorney General can ask the RCMP to investigate.
One has to wonder what Conservatives in Alberta are proud of!
John Clark
Also in another paper is an add for still another Conservative agency. This one is being called the AUC or Alberta Utility Commission which is to do away with the Alberta Energy Board.
A corner stone of the privatization plan of the above Czar was top break up Alberta’s generation capacity into blocks to be sold individually. These were known as “Power Purchase Agreements or, PPAs.
The power very much ended up with the two cities, Calgary and Edmonton. Enmax and Epcor. But, there as a number of less profitable generation facilities that were not picked up in the “public” auction. These I was advised were picked up by “The Power Corp” which you are more familiar with as being the group Mazankowsky belongs to.
This group is not known for bad decisions or welfare payouts to Government. One has to ask how much did the taxpayers pay them to pick up these worse than useless options?
Much troubling to me is the flipping or quick buys and sells of PPA for the sole purpose of pocketing a bunch of money. (Multi millions thought to have been absconded)
This was advertised as being “public” but like the park hand offs the opening of any such tenders was done behind closed doors and no word was given as to who all bid and what were the prices bid.
Once the initial sale was made by the Government it was out of their hands and the paper could be sold for what ever; gouging the electrical system. Money that should have been in the public tax fund was swiftly channeled into “friends” pockets.
There has been no public accounting of who bid and who got what.
What we do know is the majority of the electricity ended up with the cities which I think is what was planned from the onset.
So, if it was planned to end up like this, why were intermediate bids was needed for purposes other than lining some ones pockets?
Now it is a time for restructure, burn the evidence and, pull the resignation of the author of this scam.
Only the Attorney General can ask the RCMP to investigate.
One has to wonder what Conservatives in Alberta are proud of!
John Clark
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Energy Market Alberta is trying for
The US Federal Government is borrowing about $2 billions each day; North America, according to the ERO of the US Department of Energy, needs 141 gigawatts of new generation by 2016. That generation alone will cost between $310 billions and $395 billions. When you consider the need for corresponding transmission and corresponding distribution the totals are likely to range from $931 billions to $1.18 trillions.
There is critical shortage of materials to construct new generation, transmission, and distribution systems. Consequently the estimates of cost, given above, must be regarded as optimistic
This short fall of electricity is roughly 1000 times greater than the total present production of Alberta. My question is, why do the rate payers of this province have to pay for it on our utility bills? This industry can be self supporting.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
There is critical shortage of materials to construct new generation, transmission, and distribution systems. Consequently the estimates of cost, given above, must be regarded as optimistic
This short fall of electricity is roughly 1000 times greater than the total present production of Alberta. My question is, why do the rate payers of this province have to pay for it on our utility bills? This industry can be self supporting.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta - Stelmach to give away the royality-again.
There is a huge amount of BS hitting the streets and news regarding Royalties.
Simple truths:
40.00 % per BBL US is lower than the lowest price in the word.
20.00 % per BBL US is a huge give away to the oil industry. Some call it compromise.
Huge expenses cited by the oil companies are in reality paid for, dollar for dollar by the Alberta Taxpayer and, they are not audited. For this reason the oil industry has no regard on what they spend or where.
Most of the “new tar sands programs” are going to export their product out of province for upgrading. No profits for the taxpayer here. Why proceed?
If you want to get rid of this Government you have to vote!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Simple truths:
40.00 % per BBL US is lower than the lowest price in the word.
20.00 % per BBL US is a huge give away to the oil industry. Some call it compromise.
Huge expenses cited by the oil companies are in reality paid for, dollar for dollar by the Alberta Taxpayer and, they are not audited. For this reason the oil industry has no regard on what they spend or where.
Most of the “new tar sands programs” are going to export their product out of province for upgrading. No profits for the taxpayer here. Why proceed?
If you want to get rid of this Government you have to vote!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Alberta--Power Bills confuse consumers
There is some really fine investigative journalism coming out of Alberta these days!
Power Bills confuse consumers reads the Sun headlines. This and the associated articles by Graham Hicks are to the point and very well balanced. Worth the read!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
http://blog.canoe.ca/hicksonsix
Power Bills confuse consumers reads the Sun headlines. This and the associated articles by Graham Hicks are to the point and very well balanced. Worth the read!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
http://blog.canoe.ca/hicksonsix
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Alberta Power utility rip off- DetailsThursday.
Research coming in faster than I anticipated. Unreasonable profits in Alberta as compared to other jurisditions an eye opener.
Will be ready to post in time for the election.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Will be ready to post in time for the election.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, October 05, 2007
Alberta's consequence for in-action.
One person said "I want to see a strong Alberta; strong as in facing up to Ottawa when they try to take over our stuff"
I said “There is a great deal of cash moving to the oil companies that should be in tax coffers.
If Alberta does not step up to the plate and collect the Royalties that belong to us, Ottawa will most certainly step in and take up the slack."
This will leave Alberta in a most familiar place of bad mouthing other jurisdictions because they failed to look after their own interests properly.
The NEP is dead; Never to rise again. Move on.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
I said “There is a great deal of cash moving to the oil companies that should be in tax coffers.
If Alberta does not step up to the plate and collect the Royalties that belong to us, Ottawa will most certainly step in and take up the slack."
This will leave Alberta in a most familiar place of bad mouthing other jurisdictions because they failed to look after their own interests properly.
The NEP is dead; Never to rise again. Move on.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Stelmach driving get away car
Stelmach driving the get-away car!
Canada AM produced this catching one liner. I share.
The talk program centered on a speaking engagement Ed Stelmach made in Grande Prairie Alberta. He is telling rural Alberta to accept a lot less than 20% while side stepping and avoiding any reference to the billions a year lost to Albertans in royalties as pointed out by the Auditor General.
This guy was very much involved in the decisions not to increase the oil royalties as were the rest of the Conservative caucus. Fritting away multi billions of revenue cannot be forgiven!
At a recent meeting I heard one conservative say “perhaps we should stop privatizing everything” (to capture a vote). My comment to him was “that would make you a small L Liberal.
John Clark
cyerclark @ shaw.ca
Canada AM produced this catching one liner. I share.
The talk program centered on a speaking engagement Ed Stelmach made in Grande Prairie Alberta. He is telling rural Alberta to accept a lot less than 20% while side stepping and avoiding any reference to the billions a year lost to Albertans in royalties as pointed out by the Auditor General.
This guy was very much involved in the decisions not to increase the oil royalties as were the rest of the Conservative caucus. Fritting away multi billions of revenue cannot be forgiven!
At a recent meeting I heard one conservative say “perhaps we should stop privatizing everything” (to capture a vote). My comment to him was “that would make you a small L Liberal.
John Clark
cyerclark @ shaw.ca
Power rip off explained (somewhat)
Conversations with help lines can really be a very major help!
“The Electrical Company” pay between 4 and 6 cents per kwh for the electricity they sell you. “As a rule of thumb they double this price when talking to you on the phone because, that would be our overhead” they say.
Their buying price today is under 05 cents kwh.
That brings the conversation price of electricity up to between .08 and .12 cents per kwh.
“The Electrical Company” feel they are giving every one a break when they charge us at 10 or 11 cents per kwh.
The point here is the base rate charged on electricity to the consumer is entirely arbitrary and supported by the EUB! When is 100% profit not enough? That is when the EUB allows increases in power costs based on “lost profits” Dam, I want one of those!
The power line companies running their various power lines base the price of the transmission on the “conversation” price of electricity.
As your power price increases so does your transmission costs. Money must weigh heavily on the lines.
Running a cost plus operation is hard. They have to figure out how they can add a billion dollars profit, or more in services charges. (Thanks to Edmonton Sun- Too bad they don't archive)
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
“The Electrical Company” pay between 4 and 6 cents per kwh for the electricity they sell you. “As a rule of thumb they double this price when talking to you on the phone because, that would be our overhead” they say.
Their buying price today is under 05 cents kwh.
That brings the conversation price of electricity up to between .08 and .12 cents per kwh.
“The Electrical Company” feel they are giving every one a break when they charge us at 10 or 11 cents per kwh.
The point here is the base rate charged on electricity to the consumer is entirely arbitrary and supported by the EUB! When is 100% profit not enough? That is when the EUB allows increases in power costs based on “lost profits” Dam, I want one of those!
The power line companies running their various power lines base the price of the transmission on the “conversation” price of electricity.
As your power price increases so does your transmission costs. Money must weigh heavily on the lines.
Running a cost plus operation is hard. They have to figure out how they can add a billion dollars profit, or more in services charges. (Thanks to Edmonton Sun- Too bad they don't archive)
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta oil a major rip off - Big oil Accountant
Alberta royalties on the tar sands are the lowest in the world at 1% until costs are recovered. They are far less than the inflation rate in this province. Total increase over the past 5 years has been 36.3% or average over 7% per year higher than the rate for all Canada.
This is the paltry sum that Albertans are getting for the big black holes in the northern forest and tailings ponds that are growing around the exploitation that can be seen from space. That is what the province got for this resource for 40 years of production.
A post graduate aboriginal told me that those ponds overflow in a heavy rain and are already polluting the rivers. They are concerned about the long term effects on the environment. Sycrude is dishonest when they claim to have restored 30% of the damage.
Canadian Oil Sands Trust Unit, the largest owner of Syncrude, paid an effective income tax rate of under 5% for each of the last seven years according to the Financial Post Survey of firms.
The international president of Exxon Mobil, the operator through its 70% owned Imperial Oil, was the first to threaten Alberta over an increase in royalties. It is the world’s largest listed oil firm reporting profits over 18% of revenue after tax last year. Imperial it self had net income about 1% higher.
Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil and Suncor are “private Canadians” as suggested in a recent article by Diane Frances in the National Post. They are public traded corporations. As the former head of Shell said as a member of the provincial commission, they can afford to pay more. Exxon Mobil agreed to give Newfoundland and Labrador a 5% interest in its offshore oil. That field took even more years to reach production than does a tar sands operation now.
Why are the Canadian governments giving this resource away so cheap?
Authored by former big oil accountant
PS
I checked Imperial Oil earnings.That Exxon Mobil subsidiary alone earned $3 billionin Canada alone in the 12 months ended June 30.Like Former CEO of Shell said, they can afford it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
This is the paltry sum that Albertans are getting for the big black holes in the northern forest and tailings ponds that are growing around the exploitation that can be seen from space. That is what the province got for this resource for 40 years of production.
A post graduate aboriginal told me that those ponds overflow in a heavy rain and are already polluting the rivers. They are concerned about the long term effects on the environment. Sycrude is dishonest when they claim to have restored 30% of the damage.
Canadian Oil Sands Trust Unit, the largest owner of Syncrude, paid an effective income tax rate of under 5% for each of the last seven years according to the Financial Post Survey of firms.
The international president of Exxon Mobil, the operator through its 70% owned Imperial Oil, was the first to threaten Alberta over an increase in royalties. It is the world’s largest listed oil firm reporting profits over 18% of revenue after tax last year. Imperial it self had net income about 1% higher.
Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil and Suncor are “private Canadians” as suggested in a recent article by Diane Frances in the National Post. They are public traded corporations. As the former head of Shell said as a member of the provincial commission, they can afford to pay more. Exxon Mobil agreed to give Newfoundland and Labrador a 5% interest in its offshore oil. That field took even more years to reach production than does a tar sands operation now.
Why are the Canadian governments giving this resource away so cheap?
Authored by former big oil accountant
PS
I checked Imperial Oil earnings.That Exxon Mobil subsidiary alone earned $3 billionin Canada alone in the 12 months ended June 30.Like Former CEO of Shell said, they can afford it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Alberta Oil moving to Saskatchwan? Not!!
Lies and misdirection are the tools of power for the oil companies and the Conservative Government. We have lived through the last 15 years of wall to wall lies and misdirection so, why should we think differently now??
If the royalty guidelines of the committee are accepted the oil companies will still be paying the lowest royalties in the world. Are they going to move? Not a chance!
Crescent Point Energy has joined the ENRON choir in saber rattling and more overt threats by saying they are moving to Saskatchewan.
Both of these companies have been working in Saskatchewan over the past many years with an increasing involvement as time moves on.
Two things come into play. The first being there is a shortage of skilled labor in Saskatchewan as there is in Albert and the housing situation in Saskatchewan is only marginally better than it is in Alberta.
These companies will move forward on an increased involvement as has been their plans for years.
Saskatchewan royalties are higher than Alberta’s. This didn’t stop the companies from opening that area up. If Alberta accepts the 20% increase as the bottom line as any responsible Government would do, Saskatchewan would have to follow suite or, face an angry populace in an election.
John Clarkcyberclark@shaw.ca
If the royalty guidelines of the committee are accepted the oil companies will still be paying the lowest royalties in the world. Are they going to move? Not a chance!
Crescent Point Energy has joined the ENRON choir in saber rattling and more overt threats by saying they are moving to Saskatchewan.
Both of these companies have been working in Saskatchewan over the past many years with an increasing involvement as time moves on.
Two things come into play. The first being there is a shortage of skilled labor in Saskatchewan as there is in Albert and the housing situation in Saskatchewan is only marginally better than it is in Alberta.
These companies will move forward on an increased involvement as has been their plans for years.
Saskatchewan royalties are higher than Alberta’s. This didn’t stop the companies from opening that area up. If Alberta accepts the 20% increase as the bottom line as any responsible Government would do, Saskatchewan would have to follow suite or, face an angry populace in an election.
John Clarkcyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, October 01, 2007
Electricty rides free from the critical eye!
Electrical energy as administered by this Government is not the free for all it appears to be. It is a practiced and deliberate rip off. The electricity companies and the Government are plying to the massive ignorance of Albertans when it comes to the complicated issues of Electricity supply and transmission.
AESO have said recently they are opening up the Wind Power generation in this province moving the generation threshold up to 900 mw (megawatts). The lines that are in place now are a 300 kv (kilovolt) line into BC that was put in place to export power to BC but, finds that it is moving power from BC to Alberta. It is possible to move 800 mw of power over a 900 kv line but, not with the existing power already on the grid!
Questions beg to be asked, where are the new power lines being planned for the wind farms?
Fording, of the Sherritt Fording (Ontario Teachers Pension Fund) group is courting the sale of its last remaining metallurgical coal to a US company. That would leave Fording in the power generation business. (They have already divested themselves of the heating coal by turning it over to the Sherritt part of the organization)
Add
Fording is working through a professional Environmental company on the Environmental approval package now.
How soon is the Fording Company going to be before the power generated at Brooks Alberta is going to be available for the grid? And, what of the power lines to hook it up, north and south. It will be 90% for export and the price of the electricity will be dependent on how much Sherritt charges Fording for the coal it will use.
When that generation comes on line, the new 500 kv line will be in place from Genesse to Calgary. Because of the new southern generation the new lines will be under utilized and it will be said that that is the reason Albertans have to pay for the use of lines for export of electricity.
What is really needed is a Government who will look out for the interests of the population of Alberta. Not just the oil and energy companies.
Where are the explanations from ENMAX and EPCOR on why on top of their billions in profits do they need extra percentages on rate increases. If we have leaned anything in this past couple weeks is the EUB cannot be trusted to do other than what the Government tells them to do.
Bottom line is Alberta is short of transmission lines to export electricity and is adequate for supplies of our present needs. While weighing this, consider many US power suppliers and power line companies are in trouble financially because of bad policy and inflation. Outages shorts and meyham are ever present.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
AESO have said recently they are opening up the Wind Power generation in this province moving the generation threshold up to 900 mw (megawatts). The lines that are in place now are a 300 kv (kilovolt) line into BC that was put in place to export power to BC but, finds that it is moving power from BC to Alberta. It is possible to move 800 mw of power over a 900 kv line but, not with the existing power already on the grid!
Questions beg to be asked, where are the new power lines being planned for the wind farms?
Fording, of the Sherritt Fording (Ontario Teachers Pension Fund) group is courting the sale of its last remaining metallurgical coal to a US company. That would leave Fording in the power generation business. (They have already divested themselves of the heating coal by turning it over to the Sherritt part of the organization)
Add
Fording is working through a professional Environmental company on the Environmental approval package now.
How soon is the Fording Company going to be before the power generated at Brooks Alberta is going to be available for the grid? And, what of the power lines to hook it up, north and south. It will be 90% for export and the price of the electricity will be dependent on how much Sherritt charges Fording for the coal it will use.
When that generation comes on line, the new 500 kv line will be in place from Genesse to Calgary. Because of the new southern generation the new lines will be under utilized and it will be said that that is the reason Albertans have to pay for the use of lines for export of electricity.
What is really needed is a Government who will look out for the interests of the population of Alberta. Not just the oil and energy companies.
Where are the explanations from ENMAX and EPCOR on why on top of their billions in profits do they need extra percentages on rate increases. If we have leaned anything in this past couple weeks is the EUB cannot be trusted to do other than what the Government tells them to do.
Bottom line is Alberta is short of transmission lines to export electricity and is adequate for supplies of our present needs. While weighing this, consider many US power suppliers and power line companies are in trouble financially because of bad policy and inflation. Outages shorts and meyham are ever present.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta not alone in trying to get more revenue
Miguel Roda, the President of Bolivia took to the US airways this weekend. He is known for his move to increase Bolivia’s royalty rates. He defended his decision by saying he increased Bolivia's take on the gas royalties from 300 million dollars to over 2 billion dollars a year. There has to be a lot of happier people in Bolivia, not necessarily in Santa Cruz
The US oil companies are re doing their revenue outlooks in anticipation of a Democrat Majority this election. I haven’t heard of any of the Oil companies saying they are going to pull up stakes and move out of Texas.
ENCANA on the other hand is still in the position of threatening Alberta and Stelmach is going along with them. I suggest to both parties they examine their positions and consider the alternatives. I believe very sincerely this whole show is nothing but a show to appear as a hard fight to do nothing or too little.
The number put forward by the committee on Royalty rip off produced the absolute lowest possible figures that could be considered even remotely reasonable.
The US oil companies are re doing their revenue outlooks in anticipation of a Democrat Majority this election. I haven’t heard of any of the Oil companies saying they are going to pull up stakes and move out of Texas.
ENCANA on the other hand is still in the position of threatening Alberta and Stelmach is going along with them. I suggest to both parties they examine their positions and consider the alternatives. I believe very sincerely this whole show is nothing but a show to appear as a hard fight to do nothing or too little.
The number put forward by the committee on Royalty rip off produced the absolute lowest possible figures that could be considered even remotely reasonable.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Former Crown Corporation threatens Alberta. So much for Privitzation!
Stelmach and crew have joined with the oil companies in a theatrical production about royalties for which there will be no change when the wash is out. The responses from all concerned can be nothing other than staged performances.
Alberta: One time Alberta Crown Corporation Encana is making a lot of threats against Alberta. Going to totally trash us they say.
Well, this is the same company, once and Alberta Crown Corporation, that was privatized by this Government. Says a lot about the conservatives plans.
This is the same company who wants to build additional pipelines and ship our product to Chicago dodging all conversations that would have them say why and, being totally supported by Stelmach and crew.
Meanwhile Stelmach has cut royalties through tax brakes amounting to billions of dollars over the last few years. In brief he has determined Alberta is making enough. All increases in oil prices go to the oil companies.
Apart from this the cost of living has increased so high in this province people are leaving in droves. Soon enough it will all be owned by the oil and power companies.
I am writing this at a heated moment.
The History Channel pointed out last night that Hitler took over Germany when the NATZI
Party of the day took 25 percent vote. Once he had power he took Germany down the dark path we are all familiar with.
The Alberta Conservatives took over the Alberta Government last election with 22 percent of the eligible vote.
As in no other time in our history, Alberta has to get out and vote. We can make a difference.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta: One time Alberta Crown Corporation Encana is making a lot of threats against Alberta. Going to totally trash us they say.
Well, this is the same company, once and Alberta Crown Corporation, that was privatized by this Government. Says a lot about the conservatives plans.
This is the same company who wants to build additional pipelines and ship our product to Chicago dodging all conversations that would have them say why and, being totally supported by Stelmach and crew.
Meanwhile Stelmach has cut royalties through tax brakes amounting to billions of dollars over the last few years. In brief he has determined Alberta is making enough. All increases in oil prices go to the oil companies.
Apart from this the cost of living has increased so high in this province people are leaving in droves. Soon enough it will all be owned by the oil and power companies.
I am writing this at a heated moment.
The History Channel pointed out last night that Hitler took over Germany when the NATZI
Party of the day took 25 percent vote. Once he had power he took Germany down the dark path we are all familiar with.
The Alberta Conservatives took over the Alberta Government last election with 22 percent of the eligible vote.
As in no other time in our history, Alberta has to get out and vote. We can make a difference.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Alberta Oil companies reduced to fear mongering.
Alberta oil reduced to fear mongering.
The conservatives are saying constantly to let market values shake out the problems but, when it comes to their buddies in the oil board rooms this overly simplistic rhetoric we are accustomed to hearing goes out the window. It is used only when they want you to pay more.
Subsidies of low royalties, free potable water, free natural gas and the more than favorable tax regime are side stepped in this fear mongering article.
Don’t expect this Government to do anything for the citizens of this province. If you don’t like it, catch a bus. That much, they will support you in.
Here is the golden goose the oil companies are trying to protect. Future oil up above 82.00 a bbl USD
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The conservatives are saying constantly to let market values shake out the problems but, when it comes to their buddies in the oil board rooms this overly simplistic rhetoric we are accustomed to hearing goes out the window. It is used only when they want you to pay more.
Subsidies of low royalties, free potable water, free natural gas and the more than favorable tax regime are side stepped in this fear mongering article.
Don’t expect this Government to do anything for the citizens of this province. If you don’t like it, catch a bus. That much, they will support you in.
Here is the golden goose the oil companies are trying to protect. Future oil up above 82.00 a bbl USD
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Alberta Royalties - A matter of trust.
This Government has been sand bagging information and has continually put forward a program of lies misdirection and total deceit! How can we possibly believe them now?
The recommended royalty rate was accepted by the oil industry who satisfy us by saying more or less that "we will make do". Stelmach has put on his theatre face telling us he will do what is best for Albertans. The latter should make us suspicious as they have been saying the same thing for the last dozen years!
The numbers presented are apparently 20 percent above the 25 percent presently being charged as royalty. With only 19 of this 25 being collected just what in hell does that mean? What is in place to recover the other 6 percent of the present deal that was dealt away in back rooms?
The 20% figure is till 25 points below the lowest number elsewhere in the world.
The 20% figure could be dealt back to the oil companies through tax deductions or additional allowed expenses; a dozen different ways. The 20% figure is not as much cash as the oil companies make in one month!
This is a Stelmach orcastrated parade and, I agree with Taft saying we should have a public audit. After the light show Stelmach puts up you will find we have been shafted yet again.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The recommended royalty rate was accepted by the oil industry who satisfy us by saying more or less that "we will make do". Stelmach has put on his theatre face telling us he will do what is best for Albertans. The latter should make us suspicious as they have been saying the same thing for the last dozen years!
The numbers presented are apparently 20 percent above the 25 percent presently being charged as royalty. With only 19 of this 25 being collected just what in hell does that mean? What is in place to recover the other 6 percent of the present deal that was dealt away in back rooms?
The 20% figure is till 25 points below the lowest number elsewhere in the world.
The 20% figure could be dealt back to the oil companies through tax deductions or additional allowed expenses; a dozen different ways. The 20% figure is not as much cash as the oil companies make in one month!
This is a Stelmach orcastrated parade and, I agree with Taft saying we should have a public audit. After the light show Stelmach puts up you will find we have been shafted yet again.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta Royality Report is in!
I’m not one to say “I told you so!” but it is worth while to note the Royalty report has taken the absolute minimum amount of increase that would be reasonable. This would have the resource companies still paying much below any one in this world. Any technical differences have been paid for on startup by the Alberta Taxpayer.
It is reported to me that Ed Stelmach is taking council from the Fraser Institute on how to best avoid a resolve in the royalties. The idea has been put forward to do away with the 10 % tax credit on dividends paid by the oil sector in Alberta. This, they have counseled will allow him to tell Albertan’s he has met the Royalty Report half way.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
It is reported to me that Ed Stelmach is taking council from the Fraser Institute on how to best avoid a resolve in the royalties. The idea has been put forward to do away with the 10 % tax credit on dividends paid by the oil sector in Alberta. This, they have counseled will allow him to tell Albertan’s he has met the Royalty Report half way.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, September 17, 2007
Blair comes to Alberta - is the taxpayer footing the bill?
Tony Blaire, George Bushe's right hand man is on his way to Calgary on the for hire lecture circuit. This guy will cost big bucks!
john Clark
Cyberclark@shaw.ca
john Clark
Cyberclark@shaw.ca
Mulroney checked the wind and feels he can go public.
Brian Bulroney has not endorsed anything publicly since he went out to capture headlines on Ben Johnson's win and ended up with egg on his face.
I guess he figures there is enough press support climate change it is safe to try for headlines in this area.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
I guess he figures there is enough press support climate change it is safe to try for headlines in this area.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, August 30, 2007
EPCOR to sell grey water to upgraders?
We have heard city council members say they have misgivings about EPCOR selling waste (grey) water to the oil up graders who will use billions of gallons of water in the process.
Grey water can be returned back to the river with minimum treatment.
There are different kinds of water use.
If the water is used as a cooler or a heat medium any steam produced would at some point escape back into the atmosphere. Because of this it will remain part of the water resource and be returned to earth as rain, snow etc.
If on the other hand it is being pumped down hole or used to flood coal methane wells it is lost for ever. There is nothing coming back from this. I have enquiries out to the upgrader companies asking for specifics on their water use. No replies yet.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca.
Grey water can be returned back to the river with minimum treatment.
There are different kinds of water use.
If the water is used as a cooler or a heat medium any steam produced would at some point escape back into the atmosphere. Because of this it will remain part of the water resource and be returned to earth as rain, snow etc.
If on the other hand it is being pumped down hole or used to flood coal methane wells it is lost for ever. There is nothing coming back from this. I have enquiries out to the upgrader companies asking for specifics on their water use. No replies yet.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca.
Why I am excited about the power rate increases.
In answer to enquiries on Electricity rates:
The point of the increases is to ramp up charges so we will be used to paying California prices (highest in the world) for the electricity for our homes by the time the new generation comes on by Fording for Brooks Alberta and the Peace River power generation are ready to deliver.
The increases taken between now and completion of these plants will go to corporate profits; part of the exercise.
Lots of reasons for you to vote in the next election!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The point of the increases is to ramp up charges so we will be used to paying California prices (highest in the world) for the electricity for our homes by the time the new generation comes on by Fording for Brooks Alberta and the Peace River power generation are ready to deliver.
The increases taken between now and completion of these plants will go to corporate profits; part of the exercise.
Lots of reasons for you to vote in the next election!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Urban living pays for the power in this province.
Alberta is ramping up for massive export of Electricity. You will be expected to pay for this in the most part by increased charges to your power bills for electricity and transmission, the latter being hooked to electricity cost.
What is not covered by you directly will be covered out of the general revenues of this province.
There is a generating plant planned for Brooks Alberta to serve Calgary and Southern Alberta. Now, there is a facility being built in Peace River to Service northern Alberta. In addition to this the companies in the oil sands build their own generation facilities and have in the past, exported their power to California.
The costs of the plant generation go into start up costs and are paid for by the tax payer.
Because of Alberta’s rules that all transmission lines are paid for equally by all Albertans, the cost of oil sands and up grader power lines (specific for their use) will be paid for in the urban utility bills.
The Conservatives have allowed the cost of electricity to be increased, having nothing to do with generation or transmission charges. This does however have a lot to do with increasing the cost of electricity so that the new plants can remain profitable and be in a position to export some of the 7000 megawatts of power the US is going to be short.
Over the next couple of years the Enmax and Epcor people will pocket unusually huge profits. This keeps the City of Edmonton happy. They like windfalls when they happen.
A week after this post:
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
What is not covered by you directly will be covered out of the general revenues of this province.
There is a generating plant planned for Brooks Alberta to serve Calgary and Southern Alberta. Now, there is a facility being built in Peace River to Service northern Alberta. In addition to this the companies in the oil sands build their own generation facilities and have in the past, exported their power to California.
The costs of the plant generation go into start up costs and are paid for by the tax payer.
Because of Alberta’s rules that all transmission lines are paid for equally by all Albertans, the cost of oil sands and up grader power lines (specific for their use) will be paid for in the urban utility bills.
The Conservatives have allowed the cost of electricity to be increased, having nothing to do with generation or transmission charges. This does however have a lot to do with increasing the cost of electricity so that the new plants can remain profitable and be in a position to export some of the 7000 megawatts of power the US is going to be short.
Over the next couple of years the Enmax and Epcor people will pocket unusually huge profits. This keeps the City of Edmonton happy. They like windfalls when they happen.
A week after this post:
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Is there an alternative?
One question in the survey that tanked the Conservatives in the polls was “Do you think there is a viable alternative to the Conservatives?” My answer was “YES”!
Albertan’s all know the Conservatives are socially deficient, self serving and as close to organized crime as any elected body on the planet. However, it is not enough to complain. For that army of people who are ashamed by the Conservative it is time to think of the only alternative; The Liberals.
This is a group of well motivated, honest and serving people who don’t think they were born to the job.
It is time to vote for a group of people who will take the province interests to heart and look after this province as opposed to the present group who think it is their right to rip off this province at every occasion.
I will be personally attending a good number of election question and answer sessions this time.
If we don’t make the change now, there will be no recovery.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Albertan’s all know the Conservatives are socially deficient, self serving and as close to organized crime as any elected body on the planet. However, it is not enough to complain. For that army of people who are ashamed by the Conservative it is time to think of the only alternative; The Liberals.
This is a group of well motivated, honest and serving people who don’t think they were born to the job.
It is time to vote for a group of people who will take the province interests to heart and look after this province as opposed to the present group who think it is their right to rip off this province at every occasion.
I will be personally attending a good number of election question and answer sessions this time.
If we don’t make the change now, there will be no recovery.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Stelmach to copy Ottawa success in selling public buildings.
As usual the Consevatives will pour billions into an upgrade and then, sell the property for 2 cents on the dollar to one of their "inside" friends.
Like the parks and camp grounds; Like the power lines; Like Calgary Hospital; Like the electricity and not to be left out like our drinking water!
From Alberta Short News:
Alberta to Spend 350 Million Dollars Upgrading Public Buildings
The government of Albert, Canada unveiled plans to $350 million to upgrade more than 100 facilities. The spending comes in light of a surplus to the province.
About $200 million will be spent on Education; more than $100 million of which will go to post-secondary education another $97 million will be alotted to elementary and secondary education.
Another $87 million will be pumped into health-care facilities and hospitals. The remainder of which will go towards buildings in other government departments.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Like the parks and camp grounds; Like the power lines; Like Calgary Hospital; Like the electricity and not to be left out like our drinking water!
From Alberta Short News:
Alberta to Spend 350 Million Dollars Upgrading Public Buildings
The government of Albert, Canada unveiled plans to $350 million to upgrade more than 100 facilities. The spending comes in light of a surplus to the province.
About $200 million will be spent on Education; more than $100 million of which will go to post-secondary education another $97 million will be alotted to elementary and secondary education.
Another $87 million will be pumped into health-care facilities and hospitals. The remainder of which will go towards buildings in other government departments.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
As predicted Conservatives sell off the country!
a giveaway of colossal proportions:
Like Alberta the Feds sell stuff off with no regard to values their eyes only on brownie points for privitizing what ever moves.
Dig in for more if you elect these clowns again!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw..ca
Like Alberta the Feds sell stuff off with no regard to values their eyes only on brownie points for privitizing what ever moves.
Dig in for more if you elect these clowns again!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw..ca
Monday, August 20, 2007
Alberta courts offer major free rides!
The Conservative driven courts in Alberta are leading the province to Anarchy. Use what ever means is available to you to protect yourself and your property!
The Alberta courts are bundling 6, 8 and more offences for various thefts and break and enter cases. Once bundled, the courts will judge the lesser offences (2 or 3), dismissing the remained in order to get a quick guilty plea. This is driven by the crown prosecutors.
Big bucks are being spent on video cameras but the Conservative courts are asking for family members to identify the people caught in the videos before they, the court, will allow them entered as evidence. By this action courts have relegated surveillance video to an expensive hobby.
The Attorney General of this province would like to make it all Ottawa’s problem but, it is strictly the interest level of this government.
This Government is so busy trying to privitize absoluly everything they do not have the time or the will to enforce the laws unless of course, there is some coin for them involved.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The Alberta courts are bundling 6, 8 and more offences for various thefts and break and enter cases. Once bundled, the courts will judge the lesser offences (2 or 3), dismissing the remained in order to get a quick guilty plea. This is driven by the crown prosecutors.
Big bucks are being spent on video cameras but the Conservative courts are asking for family members to identify the people caught in the videos before they, the court, will allow them entered as evidence. By this action courts have relegated surveillance video to an expensive hobby.
The Attorney General of this province would like to make it all Ottawa’s problem but, it is strictly the interest level of this government.
This Government is so busy trying to privitize absoluly everything they do not have the time or the will to enforce the laws unless of course, there is some coin for them involved.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Conservatives set up to privitize (give away) Alberta Heritage Trust fund.
Conservatives start their program to privatize Alberta Heritage Trust Fund. This article sites poor performance of the fund which in truth is the draw down of earned profits by the Conservatives. They take any profits from the fund and use them in General Revenues. This keeps the picture poor.
As usual they destabilize a working unit then, reach for privatization to fix the problem where in truth, all it takes is a change in Government.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
As usual they destabilize a working unit then, reach for privatization to fix the problem where in truth, all it takes is a change in Government.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Alberta Ropyalities will drop.
Excellent article in the Edmonton Sun.
Alberta's oil royalties could drop: report
Critic says government full of 'suckers'
By JEREMY LOOME, Legislature Bureau
Alberta’s share of oil royalties could decline while the federal government’s take increases under a new royalty option for the oil sands proposed by the provincial government, says one of the world’s top oil consultants.
It’s more evidence the Alberta government is full of “suckers,” said NDP Leader Brian Mason.
He said the same report shows Alberta is losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars annually in revenues it should collect. “They have lost sight of the interests of the people of this province,” he said.
In his study for Alberta Energy, Calgary-based consultant Pedro van Meurs said the proposal – which would allow companies to calculate royalty payments on a choice of either the finished synthetic crude product or the tar-sands bitumen from which it is extracted – could lead to two significantly different outcomes.
The companies being offered the new plans, Suncor and Syncrude, have until this year to decide which to opt into.
If the companies opt for royalties based on synthetic crude, Alberta’s royalty rates will be 8% higher than if it opts for a rate based on unprocessed bitumen, says Van Meurs.
If Alberta allows them to choose the latter, recent changes to federal tax laws mean the federal take will increase while Alberta’s take decreases, he indicates.
“It is very obvious that Alberta is faced with a very high level of royalty reduction, when under the Suncor and Syncrude terms companies opt for a switch to bitumen values from SCO values,” he notes.
He said the switch “will result in a drop of about 8% in the overall government take. However, that drop is only experienced by Alberta, the federal share actually goes up, since royalties are now deductible for tax purposes.”
The government isn’t commenting on the report, over concerns it might bias the ongoing review of royalty rates.
But Liberal opposition critic Hugh MacDonald said Albertans don’t want to hear that their own government is allowing more revenue from Alberta oil to head to Ottawa.
“The results of this study are damning with respect to this government’s handling of a resource that belongs to the people of Alberta,” he said.
“Under an Alberta plan, we could actually get less. It’s astonishing, and it’s more clear evidence this government has been operating without any real plan for the last 10 years.”
The study, first reported in yesterday’s Sun, also suggests Alberta is being taken to the cleaners compared to other jurisdictions, receiving between 15% and 30% less overall revenue from companies here, or as much as $2 billion since the rates were set in 1996.
jeremy.loome@sunmedia.com
Alberta's oil royalties could drop: report
Critic says government full of 'suckers'
By JEREMY LOOME, Legislature Bureau
Alberta’s share of oil royalties could decline while the federal government’s take increases under a new royalty option for the oil sands proposed by the provincial government, says one of the world’s top oil consultants.
It’s more evidence the Alberta government is full of “suckers,” said NDP Leader Brian Mason.
He said the same report shows Alberta is losing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars annually in revenues it should collect. “They have lost sight of the interests of the people of this province,” he said.
In his study for Alberta Energy, Calgary-based consultant Pedro van Meurs said the proposal – which would allow companies to calculate royalty payments on a choice of either the finished synthetic crude product or the tar-sands bitumen from which it is extracted – could lead to two significantly different outcomes.
The companies being offered the new plans, Suncor and Syncrude, have until this year to decide which to opt into.
If the companies opt for royalties based on synthetic crude, Alberta’s royalty rates will be 8% higher than if it opts for a rate based on unprocessed bitumen, says Van Meurs.
If Alberta allows them to choose the latter, recent changes to federal tax laws mean the federal take will increase while Alberta’s take decreases, he indicates.
“It is very obvious that Alberta is faced with a very high level of royalty reduction, when under the Suncor and Syncrude terms companies opt for a switch to bitumen values from SCO values,” he notes.
He said the switch “will result in a drop of about 8% in the overall government take. However, that drop is only experienced by Alberta, the federal share actually goes up, since royalties are now deductible for tax purposes.”
The government isn’t commenting on the report, over concerns it might bias the ongoing review of royalty rates.
But Liberal opposition critic Hugh MacDonald said Albertans don’t want to hear that their own government is allowing more revenue from Alberta oil to head to Ottawa.
“The results of this study are damning with respect to this government’s handling of a resource that belongs to the people of Alberta,” he said.
“Under an Alberta plan, we could actually get less. It’s astonishing, and it’s more clear evidence this government has been operating without any real plan for the last 10 years.”
The study, first reported in yesterday’s Sun, also suggests Alberta is being taken to the cleaners compared to other jurisdictions, receiving between 15% and 30% less overall revenue from companies here, or as much as $2 billion since the rates were set in 1996.
jeremy.loome@sunmedia.com
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The October Election; rednecks won't take it all!
The October election:
This will be a great shift away from the Conservative bandits. Remember they were elected this last time by just 23% of Alberta. That would be mostly the rural vote.
The multi thousands of people who have moved here from other provinces can vote and, most do not have the mentality of blindly voting as their fathers did. I predict the much celebrated Alberta bigoted, red neck, pee in the bush before your dog does; will be mellowed by more reasonable thinking.
For years, young people have been disgusted with the political system mostly because they have seen what this Government has done crooking the Rural Urban split in the vote in their favor and feel there is simply no use in voting. Instead they pull out a Green Party vote as a protest vote, not because of the platform. This plays into the hands of the Conservatives; fracturing the already delicate vote pool.
This time, one vote will make a very big difference!
If you have never voted in your life, now is the time. On the course Stelmach has outlined in the press no one except the very richest of families will be able to live in this province. Your utilities can run up to 200 percent of what you are now paying as you add in the now necessary air conditioning. It takes more electricity than does heating.
A change can be made in the direction of this province!
For those of you who live in Edmonton: The city of Edmonton owns EPCOR. Ask your councilors what they are going to do to protect you. Don’t accept the statements that they have no control over this, which is a lie.
VOTE!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
This will be a great shift away from the Conservative bandits. Remember they were elected this last time by just 23% of Alberta. That would be mostly the rural vote.
The multi thousands of people who have moved here from other provinces can vote and, most do not have the mentality of blindly voting as their fathers did. I predict the much celebrated Alberta bigoted, red neck, pee in the bush before your dog does; will be mellowed by more reasonable thinking.
For years, young people have been disgusted with the political system mostly because they have seen what this Government has done crooking the Rural Urban split in the vote in their favor and feel there is simply no use in voting. Instead they pull out a Green Party vote as a protest vote, not because of the platform. This plays into the hands of the Conservatives; fracturing the already delicate vote pool.
This time, one vote will make a very big difference!
If you have never voted in your life, now is the time. On the course Stelmach has outlined in the press no one except the very richest of families will be able to live in this province. Your utilities can run up to 200 percent of what you are now paying as you add in the now necessary air conditioning. It takes more electricity than does heating.
A change can be made in the direction of this province!
For those of you who live in Edmonton: The city of Edmonton owns EPCOR. Ask your councilors what they are going to do to protect you. Don’t accept the statements that they have no control over this, which is a lie.
VOTE!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, August 06, 2007
Secret deal between Alta and BC guarantees profits for Companies.
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2007
Saskatchewan Says BC-Alberta Trade Deal is Flawed: Province Will Not Join TILMA
Vancouver - After months of debate, the Saskatchewan government decided yesterday that it would not join the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) with BC and Alberta. Citing the agreement's broad scope and unanswered questions, the government assessed that signing on had too many risks for the province.
TILMA was signed by the premiers of Alberta and BC, without public consultation or legislative debate, in April 2006.
The agreement allows corporations and individuals to sue provincial governments for any provincial or municipal government measure they feel "restricts or impairs" their investment. Under TILMA, even measures designed to protect the environment and public health are vulnerable to attack from corporate lawsuits with compensation penalties as high as $5 million.
Saskatchewan's announcement comes as Colin Hansen, BC's Minister of Economic Development attempts to justify TILMA's far-ranging implications to municipalities. The Ministry is scrambling to 'consult' with municipalities, dozens of whom have raised serious questions about the agreement's impacts on local autonomy and will vote on excluding municipalities from the agreement in early fall at the Union of BC Municipalities AGM.
"Once elected officials get the chance to read through TILMA, they realize that it is more like a corporate bill of rights than an agreement to enhance trade and labour mobility," says Carleen Pickard, BC/Yukon Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians.
"Unlike in British Columbia and Alberta, the government of Saskatchewan actually consulted academics, experts and citizens and concluded that TILMA is a bad deal. It is time for Minister Hansen to accept that, stop forcing it on BC's municipalities, and withdraw from the Agreement."
For more information, contact:
Carleen Pickard, 604.340.2455; cpickard@canadians.org.
For more information about TILMA, visit Canadians.Org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2007
Saskatchewan Says BC-Alberta Trade Deal is Flawed: Province Will Not Join TILMA
Vancouver - After months of debate, the Saskatchewan government decided yesterday that it would not join the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) with BC and Alberta. Citing the agreement's broad scope and unanswered questions, the government assessed that signing on had too many risks for the province.
TILMA was signed by the premiers of Alberta and BC, without public consultation or legislative debate, in April 2006.
The agreement allows corporations and individuals to sue provincial governments for any provincial or municipal government measure they feel "restricts or impairs" their investment. Under TILMA, even measures designed to protect the environment and public health are vulnerable to attack from corporate lawsuits with compensation penalties as high as $5 million.
Saskatchewan's announcement comes as Colin Hansen, BC's Minister of Economic Development attempts to justify TILMA's far-ranging implications to municipalities. The Ministry is scrambling to 'consult' with municipalities, dozens of whom have raised serious questions about the agreement's impacts on local autonomy and will vote on excluding municipalities from the agreement in early fall at the Union of BC Municipalities AGM.
"Once elected officials get the chance to read through TILMA, they realize that it is more like a corporate bill of rights than an agreement to enhance trade and labour mobility," says Carleen Pickard, BC/Yukon Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians.
"Unlike in British Columbia and Alberta, the government of Saskatchewan actually consulted academics, experts and citizens and concluded that TILMA is a bad deal. It is time for Minister Hansen to accept that, stop forcing it on BC's municipalities, and withdraw from the Agreement."
For more information, contact:
Carleen Pickard, 604.340.2455; cpickard@canadians.org.
For more information about TILMA, visit Canadians.Org.
Conservative platform being leaked!
Conservative candidates are told to promise changes in the royalty number if they are elected again! In preparation for this Stelmach as dropped many of our royalties below 25%.
This leaves them room to increase 1 or 2 percentage points after being elected, leaving us below the 25%
This means personal income tax will go up, city and town utilities will go up. The costs will be about 200.00 per month to the average home owner.
Considering they have told us we will be paying California prices on our gas and power it means only the oil people can afford to live in this province. I have to believe it is a Conservative plan to run every body that is making less that 100,000 a year, out of the province leaving their life dreams behind to be picked up by people associated with the oil industry.
If that is not their plan; it will end up like that never the less!
The only way to stop this crew is at the ballet box!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
This leaves them room to increase 1 or 2 percentage points after being elected, leaving us below the 25%
This means personal income tax will go up, city and town utilities will go up. The costs will be about 200.00 per month to the average home owner.
Considering they have told us we will be paying California prices on our gas and power it means only the oil people can afford to live in this province. I have to believe it is a Conservative plan to run every body that is making less that 100,000 a year, out of the province leaving their life dreams behind to be picked up by people associated with the oil industry.
If that is not their plan; it will end up like that never the less!
The only way to stop this crew is at the ballet box!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, August 03, 2007
Election call!
The Conservatives figure they have no opposition so, most are staying on to run, still again.
Points to remember:
Stelmach is making deals now to privatize our water system, still allowing obscene amounts of drinking water to go down hole to flush out oil and gas. All this use remains free.
They have shown how they plan on treating us when they do privatize the water. Same as they treat us on the oil and gas!
Moving utilities to “market value” as Stelmach has promised to do will leave us receiving the lowest royalty in the world for our resources while we as citizens of this province will pay the highest rates in the world for using gas, electricity and soon, water. The energy “market” in the west is California prices!
The Conservative organization declared their intention to export bulk water when they appeared before the Government committee on NAFTA. (Copies of that available upon request.)
Yes folks the Conservatives are facing the same game they faced in the last election over health care. Yet they quietly moved a large portion of the system into private hands under the guise of health regions. AON is still active, on Government payroll, doing what?
They have cured the tent cities by turning them into virtual prisons. This is a good thing to do in their political philosophy.
Remember that this Government as is Harpers are driven by the Fraser Institute an organization made up of retired Conservatives and Republicans who find Alberta a soft target as compared to other states in North America. Much of their membership is made up of company representatives from the USA, many who hold dual Canadian and US citizenships.
Don't forget his annoucement to turn the Heritage Savings and trust over to a private company by first turning it into a Crown Corporation then, selling the Corporation. If this was tried in most other countries they would be in Jail!
If you vote, you can change this course of events and may even be able to recover some of our losses.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Points to remember:
Stelmach is making deals now to privatize our water system, still allowing obscene amounts of drinking water to go down hole to flush out oil and gas. All this use remains free.
They have shown how they plan on treating us when they do privatize the water. Same as they treat us on the oil and gas!
Moving utilities to “market value” as Stelmach has promised to do will leave us receiving the lowest royalty in the world for our resources while we as citizens of this province will pay the highest rates in the world for using gas, electricity and soon, water. The energy “market” in the west is California prices!
The Conservative organization declared their intention to export bulk water when they appeared before the Government committee on NAFTA. (Copies of that available upon request.)
Yes folks the Conservatives are facing the same game they faced in the last election over health care. Yet they quietly moved a large portion of the system into private hands under the guise of health regions. AON is still active, on Government payroll, doing what?
They have cured the tent cities by turning them into virtual prisons. This is a good thing to do in their political philosophy.
Remember that this Government as is Harpers are driven by the Fraser Institute an organization made up of retired Conservatives and Republicans who find Alberta a soft target as compared to other states in North America. Much of their membership is made up of company representatives from the USA, many who hold dual Canadian and US citizenships.
Don't forget his annoucement to turn the Heritage Savings and trust over to a private company by first turning it into a Crown Corporation then, selling the Corporation. If this was tried in most other countries they would be in Jail!
If you vote, you can change this course of events and may even be able to recover some of our losses.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Alberta -- Going for Broke!
Alberta rural roads are getting an unusual amount of attention; Stelmach has let paving contracts to every local construction type in the rural ridings. There is more fresh pavement laid on rural roads “to control dust” than any of the major centers!
Yet highways that are collecting bodies over the years such as highway 19 are on the back burner. More votes to be had by paving driveways than highways.
What is the downside? We are going broke. After the fall election Stelmach is going to put the brakes on spending and ask us by way of higher taxes or higher utilities to make up the debit he caused getting re elected. There are tough times ahead!
There will be no move on getting our rightful share of resource revenue!
These people are shameless.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Yet highways that are collecting bodies over the years such as highway 19 are on the back burner. More votes to be had by paving driveways than highways.
What is the downside? We are going broke. After the fall election Stelmach is going to put the brakes on spending and ask us by way of higher taxes or higher utilities to make up the debit he caused getting re elected. There are tough times ahead!
There will be no move on getting our rightful share of resource revenue!
These people are shameless.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, July 23, 2007
Fall Election a sure thing!
Fall Election a sure thing!
My trip around Alberta this weekend showed me crops that are in abundance and well on their way to becoming full and ripe in most parts of the province.
Stelmach knows the farmers and farm communities will be politically docile when harvesting a promising crop!
They will not worry about these guys running off with the Heritage Trust fund or the continued turn over of our resource and infrastructure to private friends though the closed bidding process and the guise that it is best for Alberta to do this in secret.
The unsettled extreme weather of global warming could still put sand in his Vaseline! Wet fall weather could prevent the crops from coming off.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
My trip around Alberta this weekend showed me crops that are in abundance and well on their way to becoming full and ripe in most parts of the province.
Stelmach knows the farmers and farm communities will be politically docile when harvesting a promising crop!
They will not worry about these guys running off with the Heritage Trust fund or the continued turn over of our resource and infrastructure to private friends though the closed bidding process and the guise that it is best for Alberta to do this in secret.
The unsettled extreme weather of global warming could still put sand in his Vaseline! Wet fall weather could prevent the crops from coming off.
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Some work for my journalistic freinds.
Some work for my journalistic friends:
Just how arms length is Mazankowski and Great West Life removed from the AON Corporation that Alberta though the health care package to?
Why will the Government not allow viewing of the agreement between the people of Alberta and AON.
The minister sites “information on revenues” as the reason.
Hummmmm.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Just how arms length is Mazankowski and Great West Life removed from the AON Corporation that Alberta though the health care package to?
Why will the Government not allow viewing of the agreement between the people of Alberta and AON.
The minister sites “information on revenues” as the reason.
Hummmmm.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Conservatives wasting Alberta away!
As citizens of Alberta trapped under this Conservative Government our chances of getting any meaningful changes to the royalty structures for natural resources in this province are next to nothing.
The oil companies keep raising the bar for what they will pay for the shrinking labour and professional market. They are estimating the costs to go as high as 50.00 per barrel US for oil sands projects!
That would mean on a 85.00 barrel of oil 35.00 would be considered clear after production costs and we would get 8.75 royalty for the dwindling resource.
Under the present scheme there is little or no audit of what they call expenses. There are absolutely no controls over what and how much money they spend on something. There is no consolation even though the money they spend comes direct out of Alberta’s royalty portion.
Or, could it be the costs are jacked up in order to capture more revenue for the oil companies? Even though they are essentially spending our money, they claim huge success for “all the good” they have done by spending our money.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The oil companies keep raising the bar for what they will pay for the shrinking labour and professional market. They are estimating the costs to go as high as 50.00 per barrel US for oil sands projects!
That would mean on a 85.00 barrel of oil 35.00 would be considered clear after production costs and we would get 8.75 royalty for the dwindling resource.
Under the present scheme there is little or no audit of what they call expenses. There are absolutely no controls over what and how much money they spend on something. There is no consolation even though the money they spend comes direct out of Alberta’s royalty portion.
Or, could it be the costs are jacked up in order to capture more revenue for the oil companies? Even though they are essentially spending our money, they claim huge success for “all the good” they have done by spending our money.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, July 16, 2007
Further electricity gouging-Pay market price by 2010
Alberta to pay “market price” by 2010.
Ed Stelmach has said Alberta Electricity consumers will pay full market price for their electricity by 2010. That is 2 years from now! Electricity cost will increase rapidly in that period.
“Market price” is the cost of electricity in California which, is the highest in the world!
This Government has taken the single advantage Alberta had and with a total disregard of what the voters in this province want, gave away out power lines which in turn will increase in proportion to the power.
Oil concerns need the power and, any power they use at any price at all adds to the price of construction or the price of producing. So, we take a hit on both ends! I call it padding the books!
This in turn firmly slams the door on any manufacturing opportunities opening in this province and you can expect still more companies to move east to a better business climate. High Electricity, High Heating Cost, the high cost of labor, the lack of skilled workers coupled with the improved highways east bound means the Calgary warehouses are becoming redundent. Property values will depreciate.
The population is also moving east. People born and raised in this province can no longer afford to live here thanks to the extreme policies of this Government. However this is all okay with Ed Stelmach and company, it saves putting people on busses.
Many pensioners are moving east to Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This does not bode well for these provinces as the people have very low spending power and will not be able to contribute a great deal to their economy.
Fat and fast union settlements to avoid pressure at the next election are burning dollars like nothing else and, further putting the heat onto the labor market.
This, as I said, makes Ed Stelmach a happy camper.
If a government could be labeled as social psychotic, this Government would be it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Ed Stelmach has said Alberta Electricity consumers will pay full market price for their electricity by 2010. That is 2 years from now! Electricity cost will increase rapidly in that period.
“Market price” is the cost of electricity in California which, is the highest in the world!
This Government has taken the single advantage Alberta had and with a total disregard of what the voters in this province want, gave away out power lines which in turn will increase in proportion to the power.
Oil concerns need the power and, any power they use at any price at all adds to the price of construction or the price of producing. So, we take a hit on both ends! I call it padding the books!
This in turn firmly slams the door on any manufacturing opportunities opening in this province and you can expect still more companies to move east to a better business climate. High Electricity, High Heating Cost, the high cost of labor, the lack of skilled workers coupled with the improved highways east bound means the Calgary warehouses are becoming redundent. Property values will depreciate.
The population is also moving east. People born and raised in this province can no longer afford to live here thanks to the extreme policies of this Government. However this is all okay with Ed Stelmach and company, it saves putting people on busses.
Many pensioners are moving east to Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This does not bode well for these provinces as the people have very low spending power and will not be able to contribute a great deal to their economy.
Fat and fast union settlements to avoid pressure at the next election are burning dollars like nothing else and, further putting the heat onto the labor market.
This, as I said, makes Ed Stelmach a happy camper.
If a government could be labeled as social psychotic, this Government would be it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, July 13, 2007
Our rip off electricity options or lack of them.
An interesting call from Direct Energy
The price of electricity has gone up 32% since 2004.
Does it cost more to generate? NO!
An interesting call from EPCOR
If the price of electricity posted on the AESO web is .08 per kwh, EPCORE will figure the cost at .16 per kwh and, that is what they will charge you if you choose the “open market option”
As with most things with this Conservative Government the open market option is hype. The way it is administered leaves no choices for the consumer but to go to one of the “electrical supply companies” invented by the Conservatives.
A huge rip off and, with this Government in place there is nothing you can do about it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The price of electricity has gone up 32% since 2004.
Does it cost more to generate? NO!
An interesting call from EPCOR
If the price of electricity posted on the AESO web is .08 per kwh, EPCORE will figure the cost at .16 per kwh and, that is what they will charge you if you choose the “open market option”
As with most things with this Conservative Government the open market option is hype. The way it is administered leaves no choices for the consumer but to go to one of the “electrical supply companies” invented by the Conservatives.
A huge rip off and, with this Government in place there is nothing you can do about it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, July 06, 2007
New RCMP head-Shades of Mulroney
Shades of Mulroney!
Conservatives by their nature and conviction have an inherent mistrust of the Government Bureaucracy and feel a direct, hands on operation by the ruling (as opposed to elected) government is the cure all for everything. Fundamental to Conservatives is the mantra that Buisiness should run the country, Government should make rules to enable this.
Following the Conservative conviction he put his ADM’s (Assistant Deputy Ministers) directly in charge of the daily workings of various departments very often shorting and/or discarding input by seasoned bureaucrats putting the Conservative stamp on the program.
William Elliott is the named commissioner. In 1989, Elliott worked as an executive assistant to the office of the deputy prime minister. One year later, he became chief of staff in the same office.
Harper has gone one better. He has put his ADM type directly in charge of the RCMP. I suspect we can look forward to hearing the RCMP pension fund is privatized as a “step forward”
Conservatives by their nature and conviction have an inherent mistrust of the Government Bureaucracy and feel a direct, hands on operation by the ruling (as opposed to elected) government is the cure all for everything. Fundamental to Conservatives is the mantra that Buisiness should run the country, Government should make rules to enable this.
Following the Conservative conviction he put his ADM’s (Assistant Deputy Ministers) directly in charge of the daily workings of various departments very often shorting and/or discarding input by seasoned bureaucrats putting the Conservative stamp on the program.
William Elliott is the named commissioner. In 1989, Elliott worked as an executive assistant to the office of the deputy prime minister. One year later, he became chief of staff in the same office.
Harper has gone one better. He has put his ADM type directly in charge of the RCMP. I suspect we can look forward to hearing the RCMP pension fund is privatized as a “step forward”
By extension Harper is setting himself up in the likeness of Bush, a dictator want to be.
A harsh thought is with the Government in charge of the national police, we are in a police state wheter or not it is intended that way.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Elecricity rebates come to an end.
The Conservatives are under the gun from the suits to speed up their privatization schemes and open up the free market doors. Chopping all power subsidies will be the next thing they will do.
In Alberta we pay for all the power lines on export and oil sands power line generation. This means that the consumers in this province pay unfairly for all aspects of their power.
The price of electricity the US is willing to pay has gone up and will continue to go up as they fall short on generation by 7000 mw over the next year or so. The Conservatives want to fill this need and have you pay for the overhead.
They have allowed the price of electricity to jump by 30% over the weekend. They have grouped the consumers of Alberta into the nebulous electrical market discounting the fact that we are paying unfairly for large portions of the costs.
Now, they are about the cancel or adjust to non existence the brief protection we had as the electrical industry strives for market prices.
Democracy Watch chided Alberta by saying at one point the province was the closest state in Canada to being free enterprise. That is they clarified the state in Canada that is most like the USA! But, they continued the rush to the US state was slowed down under the Ralph Kline era. Stelmach is after brownie points trying to pick up the pace.
Everything that is filth in politics can be found in Alberta’s Conservative Government.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
In Alberta we pay for all the power lines on export and oil sands power line generation. This means that the consumers in this province pay unfairly for all aspects of their power.
The price of electricity the US is willing to pay has gone up and will continue to go up as they fall short on generation by 7000 mw over the next year or so. The Conservatives want to fill this need and have you pay for the overhead.
They have allowed the price of electricity to jump by 30% over the weekend. They have grouped the consumers of Alberta into the nebulous electrical market discounting the fact that we are paying unfairly for large portions of the costs.
Now, they are about the cancel or adjust to non existence the brief protection we had as the electrical industry strives for market prices.
Democracy Watch chided Alberta by saying at one point the province was the closest state in Canada to being free enterprise. That is they clarified the state in Canada that is most like the USA! But, they continued the rush to the US state was slowed down under the Ralph Kline era. Stelmach is after brownie points trying to pick up the pace.
Everything that is filth in politics can be found in Alberta’s Conservative Government.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Every body loves chocolate and its good for you?
Every body loves chocolate. Now, the German studies have shown that 6 grams of dark chocolate per day will reduce blood pressure and is being touted as a good thing. This is a nice trick in allowing you to go crazy over chocolate, this time for your good health.
Dark chocolate contains large amounts of l’arginine a nitrate. This “smoothes” out the blood vessels, relaxing them somewhat in turn, the blood pressure drops.
They don’t talk of the dark side of l’arginine! If you have a herpes virus including a cold sore and you drink chocolate milk, you will find the infection spreads rapidly with no indication of clearing up. The l’arginine in the chocolate is exciting the herpes virus!
If you have a slightly cancerous spot in your body, the l’arginine will also excite that!
Do what ever you want to do, just take a moment to know what you are doing.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Dark chocolate contains large amounts of l’arginine a nitrate. This “smoothes” out the blood vessels, relaxing them somewhat in turn, the blood pressure drops.
They don’t talk of the dark side of l’arginine! If you have a herpes virus including a cold sore and you drink chocolate milk, you will find the infection spreads rapidly with no indication of clearing up. The l’arginine in the chocolate is exciting the herpes virus!
If you have a slightly cancerous spot in your body, the l’arginine will also excite that!
Do what ever you want to do, just take a moment to know what you are doing.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Why is the tar sands borrowing of interest?
All costs for the loan of the money will go in as an expence of the tar sand construction period. This in turn has to be paid from the royality structure before the tax payer sees any amount beyond the 1%
This is standard business practice, not a shady deal. The point here however is like the other direct expences we must pay for we have no say in what prices are being paid.
The door is open for the oil company to form and fund a new company to borrow money from at very high rates inflating the costs to the taxpayer.
This doesn't bother the Conservatives.
john clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
This is standard business practice, not a shady deal. The point here however is like the other direct expences we must pay for we have no say in what prices are being paid.
The door is open for the oil company to form and fund a new company to borrow money from at very high rates inflating the costs to the taxpayer.
This doesn't bother the Conservatives.
john clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Oil Companies borrow 3.2 billion on your behalf.
Oil Sands Companies borrow 3.2 billion dollars for oil sands projects. Why not use their money? They are sitting on many times that amount. It is less than a quarter’s profit.
If they use their own money they cannot deduct it from the cost of the Oil Sands. However they can collect interest on their own money and bank it while taxpayers pay for the loans they make for use in the tar sands.
Wonder why we are going broke in this province?
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=05ce7596-7b4d-4c09-afa2-382e452ce44a
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
If they use their own money they cannot deduct it from the cost of the Oil Sands. However they can collect interest on their own money and bank it while taxpayers pay for the loans they make for use in the tar sands.
Wonder why we are going broke in this province?
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=05ce7596-7b4d-4c09-afa2-382e452ce44a
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, June 18, 2007
Why is 40% the minimum acceptable?
In answer to the many questions of “Why 40%”?
This is really a statement of how the Conservatives have ripped off this province.
40% would be an honest return if applied to all the natural resources.
40% would still be the lowest royalty charged in the world, bar none!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
This is really a statement of how the Conservatives have ripped off this province.
40% would be an honest return if applied to all the natural resources.
40% would still be the lowest royalty charged in the world, bar none!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Friday, June 15, 2007
Alberta schools on the block!
The Government’s 3P plan for building schools has little or no chance of succeeding as favorable to the taxpayer. It does however bring us a step closer to totally privatizing the school buildings.
In most 3P projects to date, the cities and governments involved have had to buy back the project after a short period of time. It appears to me to be still another way of shuttling cash into buddies’ pockets by this Government.
What do you think the chances are for an open and public process? My guess is the deal has already been made.
Liepert said consolidating the design and bundling the construction will "definitely" cost less than building the schools as one-off projects.
One reason is that the final price will be locked in when the contract is signed, he said. That means the contractor, not the taxpayer, will assume the risk of cost escalations due to inflation, he said.
In most 3P projects to date, the cities and governments involved have had to buy back the project after a short period of time. It appears to me to be still another way of shuttling cash into buddies’ pockets by this Government.
What do you think the chances are for an open and public process? My guess is the deal has already been made.
Liepert said consolidating the design and bundling the construction will "definitely" cost less than building the schools as one-off projects.
One reason is that the final price will be locked in when the contract is signed, he said. That means the contractor, not the taxpayer, will assume the risk of cost escalations due to inflation, he said.
Royalties Energy-Recap
There has been volumes published by oil companies trying to defend the highest profit oil royalty regime in the world! In defending what is seemingly impossible to defend there is only a few key points they hit on.
1.
Natural Gas output has peaked as of 2001. It’s all downhill now. We are running out and the taps are still turned on full for export. Alberta Natural Gas was also given to the oil and gas companies at the lowest rates in the world. Now that it is running out, these same companies will move on to greener fields and, we in Alberta are left holding a very stinky bag of no natural gas and ruined water supplies.
Multi billions of dollars miss managed by this Government! They sill plan on accelerating the coal bed methane capture using more of our dwindling water supplies and returning the lowest royalties in the world.
2.
Conventional oil complains are saying they are not getting the profits they once did because it is more difficult to drill in part and the cost of labor has increased. They feel they should be compensated for this by the taxpayers who are in the same boat.
3.
The Association for Canadian Oil Producers have finally come out and their only addition to the arguments is the oil companies pay big bucks for the oil leases and this somehow entities them to the extreme high share of oil revenue while the Alberta Crown gets next to nothing; 20 to 25 percent.
The leases like every thing else the Conservative Government has done are sold off lower than leases elsewhere in the world leaving this organizations arguments empty.
4.
Tar sands organizations are saying their costs have gone up; they need still more profit if anything. Look here at the hundreds of billions of dollars profit declared by these same companies every quarter!
By over building and exploiting the resources they actually get for nothing they have put huge pressures on the supply structure as well as the labor market. In fact they pay some of the highest wages in the world to people working in the tar sands industry. Unfortunately they are paying this out of taxpayer money. The taxpayer does not get any part of their skinny royalty until the plant costs are totally paid for.
The same organizations are saying they add so much to the economy of this province they should not have to take a lower cut of the oil revenue. Considering most of what they have added is bought with our money its hard to think they are actually serious in this ploy.
5.
Stelmach’s Conservatives continue to say this “success” is because they created a climate conducive to business investment. What a snow job!
I say to the oil companies “Come to the table with a proposal of 40% royalty held over time” and then, you may just survive.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
1.
Natural Gas output has peaked as of 2001. It’s all downhill now. We are running out and the taps are still turned on full for export. Alberta Natural Gas was also given to the oil and gas companies at the lowest rates in the world. Now that it is running out, these same companies will move on to greener fields and, we in Alberta are left holding a very stinky bag of no natural gas and ruined water supplies.
Multi billions of dollars miss managed by this Government! They sill plan on accelerating the coal bed methane capture using more of our dwindling water supplies and returning the lowest royalties in the world.
2.
Conventional oil complains are saying they are not getting the profits they once did because it is more difficult to drill in part and the cost of labor has increased. They feel they should be compensated for this by the taxpayers who are in the same boat.
3.
The Association for Canadian Oil Producers have finally come out and their only addition to the arguments is the oil companies pay big bucks for the oil leases and this somehow entities them to the extreme high share of oil revenue while the Alberta Crown gets next to nothing; 20 to 25 percent.
The leases like every thing else the Conservative Government has done are sold off lower than leases elsewhere in the world leaving this organizations arguments empty.
4.
Tar sands organizations are saying their costs have gone up; they need still more profit if anything. Look here at the hundreds of billions of dollars profit declared by these same companies every quarter!
By over building and exploiting the resources they actually get for nothing they have put huge pressures on the supply structure as well as the labor market. In fact they pay some of the highest wages in the world to people working in the tar sands industry. Unfortunately they are paying this out of taxpayer money. The taxpayer does not get any part of their skinny royalty until the plant costs are totally paid for.
The same organizations are saying they add so much to the economy of this province they should not have to take a lower cut of the oil revenue. Considering most of what they have added is bought with our money its hard to think they are actually serious in this ploy.
5.
Stelmach’s Conservatives continue to say this “success” is because they created a climate conducive to business investment. What a snow job!
I say to the oil companies “Come to the table with a proposal of 40% royalty held over time” and then, you may just survive.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Monday, June 11, 2007
Bottom line: No choices on Electricity!
The Conservatives have crooked the books yet again on Electricity supply. Up front we are given the choice of signing up with 3 or 4 electricity resellers. Middlemen as the name implies, picking up the change between the supplier and the consumer. The latter being you and I.
There is also the choice of signing up for the direct rates. I looked into this and although the direct rates are much lower than are the “over time rates” charged by the resellers we cannot take advantage of them as promised by the Government.
If you rejected resellers and opted for EPCOR to bill you the direct charges as they change from month to month, EPCOR will charge you an undetermined amount making sure your charges are above those being pushed by the reseller.
As with most things the Conservatives come up with it is a deal that is no deal at all!
On top of this we hear horror stories of people who have had their power cut off because they neglected to sign up for a reseller to cover them when their existing contacts are finished.
There is also the choice of signing up for the direct rates. I looked into this and although the direct rates are much lower than are the “over time rates” charged by the resellers we cannot take advantage of them as promised by the Government.
If you rejected resellers and opted for EPCOR to bill you the direct charges as they change from month to month, EPCOR will charge you an undetermined amount making sure your charges are above those being pushed by the reseller.
As with most things the Conservatives come up with it is a deal that is no deal at all!
On top of this we hear horror stories of people who have had their power cut off because they neglected to sign up for a reseller to cover them when their existing contacts are finished.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Bureaucrats run amuck in Alberta.
Punitive Taxation in Alberta:
Alberta Health and Wellness decided we are all dumb and negligent and installed a costly process for getting a replacement health card. When interviewed they said the Health Care Card is important and this will encourage you not to loose it again.
The drill:
Copy your drivers licence or other, specific ID.
Fill out Statutory Declaration on Replacement of Alberta Personal Health Card
Have the Declaration signed by a public Notary or a commissioner of oaths.
This only applies if you have lost 5 cards over the course of your lifetime.
Beware of your wallet in a wash machine.
Cost to you will be half a day lost work and 15 bucks for the signature.
On the other hand when I lost my wallet on a plane I reported it immediately. They said thanks. Months later when I received by AHC expense statement it showed a series of large expences in Toronto. I reported this to AHC and they told me not to worry it was okay. No effort was made for a follow up!
Alberta Health and Wellness decided we are all dumb and negligent and installed a costly process for getting a replacement health card. When interviewed they said the Health Care Card is important and this will encourage you not to loose it again.
The drill:
Copy your drivers licence or other, specific ID.
Fill out Statutory Declaration on Replacement of Alberta Personal Health Card
Have the Declaration signed by a public Notary or a commissioner of oaths.
This only applies if you have lost 5 cards over the course of your lifetime.
Beware of your wallet in a wash machine.
Cost to you will be half a day lost work and 15 bucks for the signature.
On the other hand when I lost my wallet on a plane I reported it immediately. They said thanks. Months later when I received by AHC expense statement it showed a series of large expences in Toronto. I reported this to AHC and they told me not to worry it was okay. No effort was made for a follow up!
Very selective. Some one had what seemed a good idea once and it is in for all time.
This is a bureaucracy run amuck!!!!!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Conservatives sell of the last of Alberta!
Alberta will get no part of the secondary manufacture of its natural resources. It appears every mover and shaker in the world is after our crude to send it south to the US for refining.
We give away all the up grade revenues and facilities.
We give away all the huge amount of water it takes to produce this crude.
We get the lowest prices in the world for our resource.
Stelmach and the Conservatives consider this to be good business.
I wonder how one gets on their “Buddy” list?
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
We give away all the up grade revenues and facilities.
We give away all the huge amount of water it takes to produce this crude.
We get the lowest prices in the world for our resource.
Stelmach and the Conservatives consider this to be good business.
I wonder how one gets on their “Buddy” list?
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Stage is set to do away with electricity cost protection!
Further subsidies in the form of electricty for the oil industry!
Electricity article shows the shape and size of the electrical supply problem facing this province.
Not explained in the article is who pays and what is the power needed for.
The Atomic plant in the birthing stages in Whitecourt is needed to supply the oil up-graders and tar sands with electrical power. It is not needed for general population use in that area but the general population, you and I will be expected to pay for the generation and the transmission on our utility bills.
No plans for “user pays” for the Conservative friends.
The same article explains the dilemma of wind generation. Only dependable when the wind blows and we need the power. Otherwise the power is wasted to earth.
There is an on going plan for a power plant at Blue River Alberta. This is large enough to double the power supply of Alberta and the design is chiefly for export of power to the US while the home owners pay for them on their utility bills.
The power upgrades to Genesee and the subsequent up grade of the power grid is very expensive. The expense is needed, again to supply the new oil up grader plants with electrical power.
You and I pay for these costs on our utility bills.
The conservative “equalization” program for electrical power serves the oil industry more than it does the home owners in this province.
Presently home owners are protected from higher costs of electricity by Government rebates. Such “protection” is paid for by the tax base and as such maintains the subsidy for the power companies.
This article sets the stage for Stelmach’s Conservatives to very seriously mess with this limited protection and to essentially do away with it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Electricity article shows the shape and size of the electrical supply problem facing this province.
Not explained in the article is who pays and what is the power needed for.
The Atomic plant in the birthing stages in Whitecourt is needed to supply the oil up-graders and tar sands with electrical power. It is not needed for general population use in that area but the general population, you and I will be expected to pay for the generation and the transmission on our utility bills.
No plans for “user pays” for the Conservative friends.
The same article explains the dilemma of wind generation. Only dependable when the wind blows and we need the power. Otherwise the power is wasted to earth.
There is an on going plan for a power plant at Blue River Alberta. This is large enough to double the power supply of Alberta and the design is chiefly for export of power to the US while the home owners pay for them on their utility bills.
The power upgrades to Genesee and the subsequent up grade of the power grid is very expensive. The expense is needed, again to supply the new oil up grader plants with electrical power.
You and I pay for these costs on our utility bills.
The conservative “equalization” program for electrical power serves the oil industry more than it does the home owners in this province.
Presently home owners are protected from higher costs of electricity by Government rebates. Such “protection” is paid for by the tax base and as such maintains the subsidy for the power companies.
This article sets the stage for Stelmach’s Conservatives to very seriously mess with this limited protection and to essentially do away with it.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
New Driver Culture in full play.
Even though the “enlightened driver culture” is taking shape across the country an example of what happens was demonstrated in Edmonton on the 5 of June.
Around the city truck two-way radios or “CB” radios heard the story of a man who had been kept on the road for 9 weeks and had constantly been refused time off at home. In this case, back in Edmonton, his home town, he was being asked to go to Toronto immediately. The trucking company is not an Edmonton based company.
He put the word out on his “CB” he was looking for a new job which would guarantee him reasonable time off. In the course of an hour he had 3 job offers.
He was driving a company truck which he had fixed up to make his life a little more livable. He put these accessories up for sale on the “CB”
Within an hour he had a new job, stripped his stuff out of his truck and parked it in a Safeway parking lot. The company will find it sooner or later.
This happened with a tractor only situation. It is happening across Canada and the US with tractors hooked to trailers with various loads on them. Just in time? Any company who says "We force them to go" is just not in charge of the facts.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Around the city truck two-way radios or “CB” radios heard the story of a man who had been kept on the road for 9 weeks and had constantly been refused time off at home. In this case, back in Edmonton, his home town, he was being asked to go to Toronto immediately. The trucking company is not an Edmonton based company.
He put the word out on his “CB” he was looking for a new job which would guarantee him reasonable time off. In the course of an hour he had 3 job offers.
He was driving a company truck which he had fixed up to make his life a little more livable. He put these accessories up for sale on the “CB”
Within an hour he had a new job, stripped his stuff out of his truck and parked it in a Safeway parking lot. The company will find it sooner or later.
This happened with a tractor only situation. It is happening across Canada and the US with tractors hooked to trailers with various loads on them. Just in time? Any company who says "We force them to go" is just not in charge of the facts.
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Driver culture-Just in time not what is used to be!
A year ago the hours that truck drivers can drive was changed so that 10 hours per day working is what they are allowed. This includes waiting time loading and unloading; delays in traffic meals and bathroom breaks.
Prior to this time they were allowed 13 hours driving exclusive of all other details.
This means a trip from Edmonton or Calgary to Winnipeg which for years was a next day delivery has been changed to a 2 nd day delivery from Edmonton and a 3 day delivery from Calgary. Other points are in proportion the shorter hours allowed being recognized.
Another nuance evolved. If the drivers were cut down to a days work as are most people, why do they have to spend their work time driving at night? Yes, this evolution moved forward slowly. Because the loads were needed in he mornings to start unloading, The bulk of trucks just arriving would be looking for loads back out in effect turning the industry into a daylight driving only. If loads are ready at 6 PM which, under old rules would be okay, they are simply too late,
A 6PM load out would mean a driver, now attuned to daylight driving would only get a short distance down the highway and he or she would have to shut it down for sleep because they are tired or because their hours have run out.
The “enlightened driver culture” is now in place.
Along with this culture of real people working in daylight came the thought that it would be nice to take a summer holiday. Now, across Canada as never before drivers are booking off for a week or two holidays in the busiest part of the year instead of waiting for slack time.
Loads are not delivered or delayed greatly.
Some companies have taken a very hard line with their drivers trying to keep them behind the wheel. By coaxing or threatening they attempt to keep the driver moving there-by shelving their holiday wants. Many of these situations are resolved very badly with the truck abandoned at a far off point and the driver is flying home to keep his holiday wishes.
Yes, times just got a whole lot better for drivers and, that is not a bad thing. On the other hand industries depending on the just in time inventories delivered by trucks are going to have to re think their plans. That means more inventories and less just in time demands.
The 'get it there overnight' scenario offered over the years is no longer valid.
These laws do not cover trucks that do not cross a provincial boundary. Hence trucks in the oil service-supply business can pretty well run a driver 24 hours a day and, they do. Big bucks in the pockets of those drivers which is not in it self a bad thing . They often have to travel at night when there is frost in the ground. In their world delivery time and condition is everything!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
Prior to this time they were allowed 13 hours driving exclusive of all other details.
This means a trip from Edmonton or Calgary to Winnipeg which for years was a next day delivery has been changed to a 2 nd day delivery from Edmonton and a 3 day delivery from Calgary. Other points are in proportion the shorter hours allowed being recognized.
Another nuance evolved. If the drivers were cut down to a days work as are most people, why do they have to spend their work time driving at night? Yes, this evolution moved forward slowly. Because the loads were needed in he mornings to start unloading, The bulk of trucks just arriving would be looking for loads back out in effect turning the industry into a daylight driving only. If loads are ready at 6 PM which, under old rules would be okay, they are simply too late,
A 6PM load out would mean a driver, now attuned to daylight driving would only get a short distance down the highway and he or she would have to shut it down for sleep because they are tired or because their hours have run out.
The “enlightened driver culture” is now in place.
Along with this culture of real people working in daylight came the thought that it would be nice to take a summer holiday. Now, across Canada as never before drivers are booking off for a week or two holidays in the busiest part of the year instead of waiting for slack time.
Loads are not delivered or delayed greatly.
Some companies have taken a very hard line with their drivers trying to keep them behind the wheel. By coaxing or threatening they attempt to keep the driver moving there-by shelving their holiday wants. Many of these situations are resolved very badly with the truck abandoned at a far off point and the driver is flying home to keep his holiday wishes.
Yes, times just got a whole lot better for drivers and, that is not a bad thing. On the other hand industries depending on the just in time inventories delivered by trucks are going to have to re think their plans. That means more inventories and less just in time demands.
The 'get it there overnight' scenario offered over the years is no longer valid.
These laws do not cover trucks that do not cross a provincial boundary. Hence trucks in the oil service-supply business can pretty well run a driver 24 hours a day and, they do. Big bucks in the pockets of those drivers which is not in it self a bad thing . They often have to travel at night when there is frost in the ground. In their world delivery time and condition is everything!
John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca
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