Pay Attention: It's the Oil Sands

By Satya Das, Edmonton, September 29, 2008
Those we elect will be delegated to confront the principal challenge facing Albertans today - what to do about the oil sands... Read the pdf here.

Mission Impossible

In a recent Alberta Oil Magazine article, Ken provided some commentary and insight on counteracting the recent “dirty oil” tag. He stresses the need for Oil Sands companies to make some compensatory, environmentally-friendly decisions, fast. Read the pdf here.

QUESTION: Are You Ready to Make a Deal?

By Julien Lambert - Edmonton - September 25, 2008
Whashington is thinking about developing an Energy Plan to secure oil supplies from North America. That includes securing the Canadian oil sands supply. Washington will need to make a deal with Canada. Not just Alberta. My question to you is: Are you ready to make a deal? Are you ready to re-open NAFTA?
Keep in mind that the oil sands not only benefit Alberta, but also the U.S. states where Alberta pipelines send oilsands to be refined. The Alberta oilsands also bring billions of dollars each year to the Canadian federal government in the form of GST, employment income taxes, corporate taxes, etc. If you are ready to make a deal, what are the specifics that you propose? What would you want in exchange for Alberta's black gold?

Email your response and comments to editor. Periodically, we'll post a summary of your responses and comments on this page.

According to Mineweb, Alberta produces 1.3 million barrels of bitumen daily with about 62% remaining in Alberta, and 500,000 barrels being exported and upgraded outside of Canada. About 30% of that is exported to the United States to be upgraded and refined. That figure is expected to triple over the next decade.
(Note: if you have up-to-date statistics, please send to editor)

In a statement, Harper (Canada's current Prime Minister) said, "While Canada encourages the export of our energy resources, we cannot allow companies to increase exports of raw bitumen simply in order to avoid Canadian emissions standards as they are strengthened over the next few years. Nor can we afford to export the jobs and spin-off industrial opportunities created by the upgrading of bitumen."

SYPHILIS ALERT: EDMONTON EXPERIENCING OUTBREAK OF SYPHILIS AND OTHER STDS
By Sara Boisson
February 21, 2008

Edmonton -- Many things might come to mind when people think of Edmonton – West Edmonton Mall, North America ’s largest Fringe festival, perhaps even the Oilers’ headline-grabbing Stanley Cup run in 2006. But a syphilis outbreak? The unfortunate reality is that syphilis, one of the oldest diseases around, has come back with a vengeance in the last couple of years. There were 216 cases in Alberta last year, with 75 percent of those in Edmonton . This compares to zero cases in 1996, which Dr. Ameeta Singh, director of Capital Health’s STD Centre, calls the “expected normal” rate (in fact, Health Canada in 1996 set a goal of eliminating syphilis completely). Although final numbers are not yet available for 2007, the number of cases is expected to be up from 2006.

With the syphilis outbreak also comes an increase in the rates of other sexually transmitted diseases. Dr. Singh explains that “what happens is that if you have one STD, it breaks down your normal skin barriers, basically. Your skin, including the skin on the genital area, is actually a pretty good barrier against getting infections. But if you have one infection already, that barrier is broken down.” This could explain why along with higher rates of syphilis, Alberta is also seeing increased rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia. The provincial rates of all three infections are higher than the national average. More disturbingly, because one of the first symptoms of syphilis is an open sore on the genitals or mouth, having syphilis triples one’s risk of contracting HIV. While the outbreak has affected marginalized populations, including sex-trade workers and the homeless, it is being seen in all socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, and age groups – the youngest victim was a 15-year-old, and the oldest an 81-year-old.

There are 3 STD centres that provide testing, information, and free condoms in Alberta ; one in Edmonton , one in Calgary , and one in Fort McMurray . To find one near you, call 1-800-772-2437.

SURVEY REVEALS HOW ALBERTANS VIEW THE FUTURE OF THE OIL SANDS

Cambridge Strategies Inc and Policy Channel designed and conducted the discrete choice modelling survey late in 2007. 

The study reveals that Albertan's aspirations for the future of oil sands development must have a greater environmental focus than economic growth dynamics.

There are some perceptions of misalignment between what is actually happening in oil sands development compared to the aspirations Albertans have for the development of their oil sands resources.

Albertans are in a state of flux and transition in their attitudes about how things are being handled around oil sands development. The bipolar almost equal distribution results on how well Albertans perceive that their interests are being served by government's management of their resources and managing the growth are an indication that there is no clear Alberta consensus on these issues.

Despite all the economic growth and wealth creation, Albertans are significantly less optimistic about improvements in their own prospects for quality of life improvements in the short term. 

As for whom do they see as most able to responsibly manage the growth in Alberta, no one leader or political party has a lock on the confidence of Albertans to do the job.

This, and the immediate prospects of an election where the future of the oil sands is potentially a ballot question that determines voter choices, we can expect more flux, volatility and uncertainty in Alberta's politics and policy direction.

Click to read the full report (pdf)