EDMONTON, AB: After a year of passing damaging new legislation and regulations on our energy sector, companies are pointing to NDP government policies as reasons for cancelling new oilsands projects, the Wildrose Official Opposition said.
In a letter from Koch Oil Sands Operating sent to the Energy Regulator, vice-president Bryan Lutes cites “regulatory uncertainty around the Climate Leadership Program and its potential impacts on the project, from the carbon tax to the emissions cap” as a reason to cancel its Muskwa SAGD project.
“This is just the latest example of NDP policies making a bad situation worse for Albertans,” Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said. “The NDP want to blame the price of oil, but the fact is capping emissions and implementing a carbon tax is bad policy that only hurts Alberta over the long-term.”
During the fall session, Wildrose released a 5-step plan to restore investor confidence in the energy sector, including putting a halt to Bill 25, the oilsands emissions cap legislation and cancelling the NDP’s carbon tax.
Wildrose Shadow Energy Minister Drew Barnes said Albertans deserve a government more interested in creating jobs than bulldozing ahead with an ideological agenda.
“The NDP government has worked harder to implement a new carbon tax than it has defending jobs in our energy sector,” Barnes said. “Wildrose is committed to reversing the NDP government’s bad policies in our energy sector and restoring Alberta to be the best place to create wealth, raise a family and build a community.”