by Mike Hudema (Notes) on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 11:35am.
Alberta Surface Rights Groups calls on Government to Remove Gerry Protti as head of Alberta’s new Energy Regulator
(April 30, 2013) The Alberta Surface Rights group and the United Landowners of Alberta are calling on the Alberta Government to remove Gerry Protti as the chair of the Provinces new single Energy Regulator. The Group is concerned about the real and perceived bias of a chair that was the former founding President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), was an ENCANA executive for over 14-years, and an active lobbyist with the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, the lobby group set-up by disgraced senior Harper advisor Bruce Carson.
“How can anyone have faith that they’ll get a fair, unbiased shake when the new chair couldn’t be more of an oil industry insider,” said Don Bester with the Alberta Surface Rights Group. “Oil and gas already runs the show and the Province just appointed the founding President of CAPP to be the judge and jury – its atrocious and I don’t think any land owner should stand for it.”
The call for Protti’s resignation comes only a day after the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation also called for Protti’s resignation and a few days after a scathing report by Greenpeace Canada which outlined several issues with Alberta’s energy regulator and it’s industry friendly approach related to the 2011 Rainbow oil spill – the second largest oil spill in the Provinces history.
“When you already have a system that silences people and is industry dominated you shouldn’t make it worse but that’s exactly what the Alberta government is doing,” said Bester. “By moving to a single regulator and then putting the fox in charge of the hen house you are guaranteeing you have a system that tramples landowner rights.”
The move to the single regulator has been widely criticized. The chair of the new energy regulator would: oversee the approvals of all oil and gas projects in the province; how those projects comply with the terms of their agreement (including environmental limitations); and enforce any non-compliance.
For more information
Don Bester, (403) 598-2178