By Lethbridge Herald on June 4, 2014.

Nick Kuhl
Lethbridge Herald
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Other Alberta municipalities liked what Lethbridge brought to the table in regards to a resolution on urban drilling, as it was one of the local Chamber-sponsored measures passed during the Alberta Chamber of Commerce Provincial Conference and Policy Session in Fort McMurray last week.
All approved policy resolutions become the official policies of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce and are submitted to the Alberta Government for action.
“One of the initiatives we brought forward was our concerns about urban drilling and the ability to drill within a municipal boundary, or close to a municipality, and the concerns that our community had here,” said Bruce Galts, Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce president, who attended along with general manager Stephanie Jaffray and board member Ryan Miller.
“We asked for a moratorium on that, on urban drilling, and that that process be reviewed and some pretty important things be added to, or considered, in the process. It’s something we would like the provincial government to take a hard look at.”
It was passed unanimously.
“Everybody supported it and agreed that that process needs some re-examination,” Galts said. “Our position is we’re not sure why you would even consider it. There’s no real good reason, from a local municipality’s perspective, to have a drill in the way of the community’s ability to develop.”
The Lethbridge Chamber also had its resolution renewal on Grown-in-Canada Label: Marketing Alberta’s Livestock, which identifies products produced and grown here, supported and passed.
The local chamber’s attempt at a policy renewal for Equitable Energy Pricing for all Albertans, dealing with accountability of cost overruns with transmission lines, was not voted to pass, however.
Of the 43 resolutions debated, 40 were approved and three were defeated. The Lethbridge Chamber also co-sponsored two resolutions put forward by the Red Deer Chamber: “Promote Agribusiness Growth Opportunities by Reducing Barriers to Interprovincial and International Trade” and “The Future of Agriculture in Alberta: Regional Planning in the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.”

Dean Bennett
THE CANADIAN PRESS — EDMONTON
Alberta’s NDP is asking the privacy commissioner to investigate why there is no paper trail for the cancellation of a penthouse suite that had been ordered by former premier Alison Redford.  Infrastructure critic Deron Bilous said Wednesday a freedom-of-information request on the so-called sky palace turned up nothing.  “There are no documents whatsoever,” Bilous said.  “So the question is: Are they refusing to produce these documents or are there no documents, in which case there is absolutely no paper trail on a project (for which) hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent.”  Privacy commissioner Jill Clayton is already investigating allegations that Redford’s government sought to interfere in freedom-of information requests to limit political fallout on controversial issues.  Redford resigned as premier in March amid controversy over opulent spending on herself and her inner circle.  Within days of her departure, it was revealed her office had intervened with the Infrastructure Department to make changes to the top floor of the Federal Building.  The building, a block north of the legislature, is being renovated to house politicians, political staff and civil servants. But in July 2012 Redford’s office ordered changes to the top floor to accommodate a “premier’s  suite” complete with changing and grooming areas, a fireplace, separate temperature controls, a butler’s pantry and dining and study areas.  Documents revealed $173,000 was spent on design and engineering plans that were ultimately never implemented.  Ric McIver, while serving as  infrastructure minister, said in March he cancelled the project in January because he thought it was an improper use of taxpayer dollars.  McIver left cabinet last month to run in the race to replace Redford as party leader and premier.  Deputy minister Marcia Nelson, the top civil servant in the Infrastructure Department, confirmed to an all-party committee last week that McIver cancelled the project.  Wayne Drysdale, who preceded McIver as infrastructure minister, has said he cancelled the project in December 2012.  Drysdale was reassigned to the post after McIver’s departure.  Premier Dave Hancock has disputed the characterization of the suite as a retreat for Redford only. He has told the legislature the concept was for it to be a kind of “hotel.”  McIver has said he believes some of the framing had already been done on the suite when he cancelled it.  But Nelson has said only some floor and duct work had been done, and that there were no additional construction costs charged to the abandoned penthouse.  Bilous said there should be some supporting documentation, given the nature and size of the project.  “That’s a real red flag (for) . . . this government that claims to be open and transparent yet has been the complete opposite from Day 1,” he said.  McIver did not immediately respond when asked for comment Wednesday.  Clayton is investigating a memo dispatched last November by then-deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. It directed staff to get involved in freedom-of-information requests and to help devise strategies to respond to them.  Lukaszuk later said the directive was never implemented.  He, too, is now running to replace Redford.  The former premier’s suite is being redesigned for hosting and meeting rooms.

By Don Braid, Calgary Herald June 2, 2014

By Amanda Stephenson, Calgary Herald May 14, 2014

Albertans pay more than they should for electricity because the province’s regulatory system is inefficient and cumbersome, said ATCO boss Nancy Southern on Wednesday.

The president and CEO of the Calgary-based company accused regulatory bodies of creating “needless challenges” for industry that end up being reflected on consumers’ power bills. And she told reporters following ATCO’s annual general meeting that she worries about the future, saying federal regulations requiring the phase-out of cheap, coal-fired generation could drive up electricity prices even further.

“There is no ceiling,” Southern said.

Last week, a report by independent think-tank the Fraser Institute ranked Alberta’s electricity prices as among the highest in North America. The report’s authors said the province can’t compete with other jurisdictions that have access to large amounts of hydroelectricity, but also acknowledged that bills here are high because Alberta has a market-based system that means consumers pay the full cost of electricity up front rather than through government subsidies or tax dollars.

But Southern said the report is indicative of a regulatory regime that means it can take years for companies to get a power plant or transmission project approved. Figures provided by ATCO say regulatory costs in Alberta have climbed from $13.5 million in 1998 to $146 million in 2014. (Electricity consumption and generating capacity also increased during that time.)

“It’s created a huge cost burden for all Albertans and what’s the return?” she said. “We’re slowing down our industry because we go through these lengthy processes for permitting and licensing.”

ATCO’s chief operating officer for energy and utilities, Siegfried Kiefer, said the province needs to overhaul electricity regulation the way it did with oil and gas last year when it launched the new Alberta Energy Regulator.

He said there is currently significant overlap between separate bodies like the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Market Surveillance Administration, the Utilities Consumer Advocate, and the Transmission Facilities Cost Monitoring Committee.

“When you allow endless questions, debates on costs that haven’t changed in years and take up hours and hours of time in a hearing room with lawyers, then that (regulatory) process needs to be reviewed,” Kiefer said.

The Herald attempted to contact the Alberta Utilities Commission on Wednesday but was unsuccessful.

Southern also warned that consumers’ electricity bills could spike higher due to federal greenhouse gas regulations that will require up to a dozen of Alberta’s coal-fired power plants — two of which are operated by ATCO — to be shut down out over the next 15 to 20 years. ATCO is revisiting the development of hydro facilities in northern Alberta on the Slave and Athabasca Rivers as a source of long-term reliable green power to replace coal, but Southern said projects like that are expensive and in the meantime electricity demand continues to grow.

“I understand why we’re shutting them (the coal plants) down and I agree we have to be careful of our environment,” she said. “But I also get very concerned that we have a wonderful asset base in Alberta that is going to be thrown out with the bathwater . . . And all of us today are not going to be able to enjoy that low-cost benefit that we have today and have paid for.”

Also on Wednesday, ATCO announced the launch of a new division that will sell power directly to commercial and industrial customers in Alberta.

The company will offer customers such as hospitals, shopping malls, light industry, and large industrial operations electricity solutions for their business.

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By Mabell, Dave on May 29, 2014.

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

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For Alberta’s pork producers, there’s a little more gravy on the plate.

After several lean years, industry officials report demand and prices are on the rise. And so far, Alberta’s farms remain free of a new disease that’s affected many producers in the U.S.

“There’s really a high demand for protein products globally,” explains Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director for Alberta Pork.

And Canada remains one of just a handful of nations that’s still exporting food products to countries around the world.

“We currently ship about 70 per cent of all our food products outside of Canada,” he said, as southern Alberta producers gathered for an annual get-together in Lethbridge.

Specialty pork cuts processed in Lethbridge are shipped to Japan, he pointed out. Live hogs from Alberta may be trucked to Oregon or Iowa, as well as to plants in this province, British Columbia or Saskatchewan.

“It has a significantly higher value now, over the last six months,” he said. For producers, Fitzgerald said it means an opportunity to recoup losses, when hogs were selling at an estimated loss of $40 to $50 each.

Hard times have cut seriously into the number of Alberta producers, Fitzgerald added.

“In the 1960s, we had about 26,000 producers in Alberta.”

A decade ago, he said, that number was down to about 1,200.

“Now we have 380 in Alberta,” almost one-half of them within driving distance of Lethbridge.

And some, in typical Alberta style, raise both hogs and cattle.

In his report to southern producers, Fitzgerald outlines precautions being taken to ward off the virus that’s hit some American producers. Strict “bio-security” steps are being taken to keep Alberta’s industry healthy.

Alberta Pork is also focussing on promotional events, including a new “Passion for Pork” campaign. It’s recently sponsored a Kansas City-style barbecue festival in Calgary, he said, with one to follow in Edmonton.

“Our pork is well sought after,” he said.

Fitzgerald said pulled barbecue pork is increasingly in demand. It’s a treat anyone can create in their slow cooker.

“Now we’re seeing it in sandwiches and on pizza.”