Devon Alberta Bike ready walking trails.

 A bait tree  - Snacks are left here for squirrels, birds and Coyotes

 Trail over grown some after the rains.

 This trail follows the Esso fence

 And swerves around wash outs.

 Poplar and Willow attract Deer, Rabbits, Some Coyotes and Beaver near the creek,

 Near end of the first leg, down slope, slippery in the wet and frozen.

 Starting up the second leg a branch (shorter route) to the right.

 Above the Start of the shorter route.

 Looking ahead to the Longer route which I usually take.

 Lookng into the Esso Refinery yard.

 Esso Refinery now dismantled - doing the cleanup- A very good job!

Link to Devon Blog

 Continuing along the Fence again, around the end.

 To walk along summer fields seeded Flax.

 Top of ridge second leg looking across the creek along a pipe way.

 Ending the second Leg-marking trail down to the main trail.

 End of the second leg, turning down to the main trail.

 The main trail just ahead.

 The main trail

 MT looking across creek to the pipe way seen from a far

 Bait tree seen on the first frame.

 Looking down to the creek.

 Bridge, built by the LDS people now next to a Beaver Dam.

 Beaver Dam- often see them working here.

 Up the hill across the bridge.

 Up and down hills (slippery when wet)

 Looking down at more beaver dams rich underbrush. Lots wildlife

 Trail bikers love this stretch - don't forget bike bells!  There are more walkers than riders.

 Leaving the trail to the West Side of Devon Lions Park.

 More of the up and down hills.

 And, closer to the Devon Lions Park.

 Through the park, following the River down to the bridge.6 KM aprox

An example of the truly excellent walk/bike trails around Devon.
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The trails groomed after the ongoing rains.

The Town of Devon has a great many kilometers of finished, pristine walking trails.  Not all are through the bush but entirely pleasant to take advantage of.  Some follow, more to come.

The Politics and Finance of Alberta and Alberta Oil.

By 2020 (8 years time) Albertans will have lost $45,138,240,000.00  (Billions) if you continue with the WRP and Conservatives! Speaking to Conservatives; did you sign up for a 45 billion dollar pay out to oil companies while your schools and health care disappear?

We loose on 3 fronts.
1. royalty not collected
2.taxes not collected on income properly due the domestic producers.
3. the loss to our economy as lost disposable incomes suffered by all concerned.

Oil is sold to the parent companies in the US at 75% of the market price.  Shorting the value of the oil crossing the border gives the oil companies an automatic 25% more profit into their accounts  at Alberta Taxpayers expense.   Note also, this is 25% of the earnings we do not collect taxes on as promised by the Cons.  This has been going on for years and in the press throughout.

The Conservatives cannot argue against the fact they are giving taxpayer dollars directly to the oil regime!   These billions going south every day means that oil pays no taxes on them on either side of the border.

Canadian producers have often complained about this huge discount but,  to no avail. 

Our present production is at 307,000 barrels per day. BC and Saskatchewan both sell their oil at Market value,  at a rate of 20% taken on USD .  That means that 61,400 barrels per day of that oil belongs to Alberta taxpayers and we are receiving none; zilch!

Recent figures of 1.037 million barrels per day in conventional oil produced more than triples the figures published here moving them up by 3 time!   That puts the losses to this province up over 8 billion dollars a year    Report on 1 million bbls per day production now.

Valued at 100.00 US per barrel is $6,140,000 USD per day we are being shorted. Extended that is 2.242 Billion dollars per year ripped from Alberta economy!

Alberta Treasury is shorted 448 million dollars in taxes on that amount plus 2.242 billion dollars US in royalty not collected  !  We are presently robbed of more than 2.690  billion dollars a year!

Figures released by the Government to Reuters News Agency indicate an increased output to 512,000 barrels per day by 2020 of which, if we had a decent Government in place, 102,000 barrels would belong to the people of Alberta.   That is Oil is said to be worth 150.00 per barrel at that point in time a very low estimate! 

That is $76,800,000 US dollars per day (5 billion dollars a year!) will be pulled out of the Alberta economy of which  if we continue with   Conservative type Governments!  Alberta will be loosing taxes on that amount being about 15,360,000 dollars US.  

At that time the amount we will be shorted  on royalty not collected and taxes not collect is $5,015,360,000 dollars per year!

Keep in mind here the Alberta Taxpayers have paid for every cent of the building of these plants!  Taxpayers even paid the finance charges!   This is not a huge capital investment by industry as they would have you believe. It is however a major rip of of Alberta's resources! 

In the course of their improvements tar sands companies have built a huge capacity for the generation of electricity surplus  to their needs; available for sale to the US or the  Alberta energy market.  They want Alberta Taxpayers to pay for these lines.  That is the push on power lines.

We are totally exploited in our electrical power.  Every summer without fail the power companies advance our power bills simply sighting "hot weather".  Just as regular California runs out of electrical power and we export to California to meet these summer demands.  Our prices go up, not because of use but to ramp up the prices our companies can charge selling in California. This is all part of the indirect taxation scheme so firmly in place.

The oil industry, way ahead in this rip off, know full well at some point Albertans are going to count  their losses and put in a Government who will look after  the people of Alberta.  They want to have the oil out of this province  before that time and are ramping up production to achieve that goal.  Resist pipelines and other export projects; keep the oil in Alberta until we can change the Government!

The tar sands are estimated to contain 1.7 trillion barrels (270×109 m3) of bitumen in-place, but only 10% of this number was economically recoverable at 2006 technologies and prices.

If the oil companies and Conservatives can rip off that 10% before a government change they are totally happy.   Once that 10% is gone, the price of production ramps up the profit  returns  will drop off supporting an argument finally "we can't afford it"   We have new paid in full plants starting to operate next year.  We will receive nothing from these plants and our contracts read that we are entitled to 25 when the plants are paid.

Here is the mechanics of the Alberta Royalty program.   The total disaster which brings us to this point in time.

http://albertathedetails.blogspot.ca/2012/02/alberta-royalty-explained.html>

The Political Parties

The Conservatives are following the plan laid down by Ralph Klein.  They haven't deviated from it at all, regardless of who stands up as premier!   This is why their current tour asking public opinion about health care is worth nothing and will change nothing.

The Wild Rose Party was/is a small right wing group of extremists who caught the Oil Industry eye.  Harper supported them totally throwing his seasoned election types into the WRP as managers during the elections.

The Wild Rose have worked on their extreme positions  for years constantly deluding the people in the LDS church prevalent across southern Alberta.   Their cornerstone  is doing away with the Balance of payments program and they deliberately ignore Alberta's experience with the program.  Their argument is now and always has been "the oil belongs to the oil companies; left wing types are trying to take it away"

Alberta received equalization payments until  1947 and again from 1957 to 1965.  We got our share of the program when we needed it!  It is a Canadian solution so both Harper and the WRP want to end it.

  

Oil and Harper supported them on the net and in finances and  bannered them as the Ugly Sister of Conservative politics. It worked!   We now have a total circus of nutters for an official opposition.

The Alberta Party is still lurking in the background having no policy or platforms saying they will be whatever Albertans want them to be.  Always taking studies and never committing.  They too have the interest of the oil industry and will be left extremists  depending on what is needed to destabilize the vote in Alberta.  As in no time before us, it is imperative the Liberals and the NDP start working together!

Albertans are led to believe  a change in Government will  damage their employment  and careers.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  With the additional hundreds of billions of dollars in our economy the employment  would be better with far more choices having a massive support for education.

I will cover that in a new post. Cut and paste link into your browser:
http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/08/alberta-putting-aside-fear-what-do-we.html

BC looking forward to Private Power, Alberta Style - Again.

Alberta was mostly developed when the Cons decided to privatize it through a very complex set up.

To get control of all the power lines,Ralph Klein took them over from communities with the reason of distributing money for computer labs in schools. As it was, towns that collected revenue from power lines had more revenue to work with than those who did not.

Once they had control, they passed a bill separating the power generators from the Power Line owners. Individuals owning the power lines could select to buy power from the generators. This little move towards privatization cost Alberta Taxpayers some 7 billion dollars at the time.

The power generation was registered with the Provincial Government who in turn sold Power Purchase Options (PPAs) to individuals.

At the time natural gas was horribly expensive so power sales from natural gas generation were low. Not sold they were picked up by LIFco.,and insurance company, and the parent company of General Life who Mazankowski was president of.

Now, with gas low and more gas generation coming on board, these same options would be worth a great deal of money all ripped directly from the Taxpayers of this province.

Another example was the owners of Alberta News Print company buying PPAs from the generator who supplied their plant with electricity.  This creates a situation where high priced electricity puts coin in the owners pockets while the plant takes a hit. Curious eh?

Other power (PPA) was sold to Edmonton and Calgary known as EPCOR and ENMAX. The so called market created allows these to cities (arms length from the boards of course) to charge pretty much what ever they want for the electricity. It is called Indirect Taxation.

The Federal Liberals were hounded to make a National Energy Policy encompassing control of Electricity.  Even ATCO lobbied for it.  The Conservatives rejected it totally until they have a Conservative Majority in place across the country and can push forward their Conservative Agenda.

Keep in mind, the trust is for getting more money for exported power and opening more export markets.

The thing to consider, do you want this in the hands of private industry which may or may not have an office in BC? Or, would you rather have it stay in the ownership of the province and collect the profits and expenses directly into provincial coffers?

In Alberta, Klein put in the rule all power lines would be paid equally by all citizens in the province. (Remember funding schools)

Now, it has progressed so the business base in Alberta and the citizens in the province pay for power lines built into the Tar Sands for the purpose of Exporting power to California via Montana.

Certainly BC has to Consider their next election.

LTA: LTA - BTA - STA - Ad Campaign against Bill 22 - No. 1

LTA: LTA - BTA - STA - Ad Campaign against Bill 22 - No. 1: http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2012/04/albert-public-school-system-is-on-ropes.html

Mulclair 100% correct; where are the Liberals?

Mulcair is 100% correct!  Artificially inflated is an understatement not an exaggeration!  We collect nothing for royalty while we pay for their transmission lines, roads and water! 

Recently Redford announced still another billion of taxpayer dollars is going into the cleanup of the tar sands; oil pays nothing.  This brought a ho hum from the Alberta public!.

And what about the plan to use pensions to finance a toll road (highway63)  into Fort Mc Murray?  Are you going to wait for 20 years to find out your pension fund was poorly invested so your returns are not what they expected?

As I said throughout the past election we cannot afford any more of this prosperity!

Because of this, profits are certainly higher than they should be for the industry while the province remains operating on broke; stealing pensions to make up the short fall.  

As far as the disregard for the environment; totally correct.  The policy has been and remains "If you can't see it; it doesn't exist so, don't worry about it"  When satellite pictures showed up Mildred lake like they did, this view changed somewhat not because of policy changes but because of what could be seen!

Rig water trucks still operate with impunity in recreation lakes around the province.

The 5 western premiers are the founding members of the PNWER GROUP http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2010/12/canada-is-under-seige-from-within.html

This group will have orchestrated their response to Mulclair.

Mulcair lays the facts bare; Where are the Liberals?

Mulcair is 100% correct!  Artificially inflated is an understatement not an exaggeration!  We collect nothing for royalty while we pay for their transmission lines, roads and water! 

Recently Redford announced still another billion of taxpayer dollars is going into the cleanup of the tar sands; oil pays nothing.  This brought a ho hum from the Alberta public!.

And what about the plan to use pensions to finance a toll road (highway63)  into Fort McMurray?  Are you going to wait for 20 years to find out your pension fund was poorly invested so your returns are not what they expected?

As I said throughout the past election we cannot afford any more of this prosperity!

Because of this, profits are certainly higher than they should be for the industry while the province remains operating on broke; stealing pensions to make up the short fall.  

As far as the disregard for the environment; totally correct.  The policy has been and remains "If you can't see it; it doesn't exist so, don't worry about it"  When satellite pictures showed up Mildred lake like they did, this view changed somewhat not because of policy changes but because of what could be seen!

Rig water trucks still operate with impunity in recreation lakes around the province.

The 5 western premiers are the founding members of the PNWER GROUP http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2010/12/canada-is-under-seige-from-within.html

This group will have orchestrated their response to Mulclair.

Conservative Election Plans Solid!

The Conservatives have struck on a new plan to ensure they are elected over the next dozen years or more!

The Conservative Financiers dumped large cash into the almost invisible Wild Rose Party to put up a second party of their choosing and control on the voting agenda.  Either vote Conservatives or for their Ugly Sister, the Wild Rose Party.

They hope for a close contest and they don't really care which one wins. Vote Strategically to beat one or the other will be the call, time and again!

This is in Line with Harper's majority win. At the 11th hour they came up with "THE NDP WILL BE YOUR NEXT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: VOTE STRATEGICALLY!

A minority Government in any province or Federal would derail Harper's dreams of empire!
It proves to be working!

What we need to overcome this great piece of logistical planning is for the NDP and the Liberals to make a new party. In levity I suggest "The Northern Democratic Party" it may be enough for that Turkey Brian Mason to think of someone other than himself.

If we can do this in the next two years, Vote Strategically will do away with the Conservatives.

If we can't; I fear we will in for reruns of the past two elections.

We have the Alberta Party in the wings; little hoopla and less about what they stand for. Left or right depending on what is needed to kick in the Strategic vote.

A change of Government or a Minority Government would put hundreds of billions of dollars back into the Alberta Treasury and industry would go onward unimpeded.

More than two-thirds of all oil-sands production in Canada is owned by foreign entities, sending a majority of the industry's profits out of the country.  There are more Americans working in Alberta's oil industry than there are Canadians!   Why would you not want to change these numbers?