Oilpatch policies hurt rural towns, group says

Province's attempt to boost oil and gas production seen as a threat to local tax bases

- BOB WEBER

Alberta's United Conservative government is trying to increase production from the province's declining conventional oil and gas fields at the expense of local tax bases, environmental oversight and the public interest, says a group representing rural municipalities.

Rural Municipalities of Alberta held a town-hall meeting this month to discuss the effects of enacted and upcoming policy changes they fear will cost them hundreds of millions of tax dollars, weaken rules over failing wells and hamstring regulatory authority.

"Does (industry) need to be stimulated on the backs of rural Albertans?" asked association president Paul McLauchlin. "That's the choice that's being made."

The group has identified five government policies it fears could harm its members.

It says the relaxing of a ministerial order requiring companies to pay municipal taxes before being able to transfer well licences could see unprofitable wells shifted from one unstable company to another, allowing industry to avoid paying for their cleanup.

"There is a risk that allowing assets to more easily be transferred could result in assets being transferred to companies that are not well-positioned to operate them responsibly," says a briefing document for association members provided to The Canadian Press.