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Stelmach hits at leaked report



By Upstream staff 

Alberta's premier, Ed Stelmach, reacted sharply to a leaked parliamentary report suggesting Canada might tighten its generous tax treatment of investors in the province's booming oil sands sectors.

"Everyone forgets that over the next 20-year period, about $51-billion, 41 per cent of the income, flows to the federal government. They actually make more on the oil sands than we do," Steimach said yesterday, Canada's Globe & Mail newspaper reported.

Steimach claimed the benefits of Alberta's oil sands projects were also felt far beyond the province, with jobs being created in Ottowa and as far away as Quebec, he said.

"When they start thinking about starting to dicker with the investment climate, they've got to think it through because it's going to affect Canadians," he said.

Stelmach was responding to a leaked draft report of the Canadian House of Commons Natural Resources Committee, which suggested that a tax break implimented to spur investment in the oil sands be revoked. The tax break is estimated to be woth C$1.4 billion (US$1.19 billion) annually to investors, the newspaper said.

The measure has drawn increasing criticism as oil sands operators report record revenues amid higher global oil prices and concerns grow over the impact of the vast projects on the environment.

The report said the federal government may need to become involved in regulating the sector through tighter environmental protection laws or by limiting greenhouse emissions from the oil sands project.

But Stelmach said it was unfair to single out Alberta for special treatment. He said it was essential for the state to maintain a predictable investment climate to encourage foreign investors to make large, long-term investments.


Monday, 05 March, 2007, 22:57 GMT  | last updated: Monday, 05 March, 2007, 22:57 GMT

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