Alberta PC Leadership Q&A

With the co-operation of each of the PC Leadership candidates, I will be putting together an Energy and Environment Q&A on the Globe and Mail‘s Economy Lab site. This evening, I have sent the following three questions to each of the candidates, and asked that they respond, in 200 words or less for each question, over the next 10 days:

1. Oilsands production is forecast to exceed 3 million barrels per day by 2020. Do you feel that the oilsands royalty regime captures sufficient value from this resource for Albertans? If not, what changes would you make to the oilsands royalty regime and other related policies and programs?

2. Alberta has made aggressive commitments to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs), and has implemented a suite of policies and programs including the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (industrial carbon price) and the $2 billion investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot projects. Most experts agree that more aggressive policies would be required to meet the goals set out in the Climate Change Strategy.  In light of this, what changes would you make to Alberta’s GHG policies or goals?

3. What do you see as the most important steps to ensure continued access to markets for Alberta’s energy resources? What, if any, changes do you feel need to be made to our provincial energy and/or environmental policies to ensure access to new and existing markets?