Protesters voice concerns over the Building Canada Strong Act outside Winnipeg Liberal MP offices
@aegirswake.bsky.social:
*Protesters in Winnipeg (and every other major city in Canada) are voicing their converns…
Alberta landowners’ group tells farmers, ranchers to resist oil development by Amanda Stephenson, November 12, 2026, Reuters
- Summary
- Federation urges landowners to withhold consent and refuse new surface leases
- Without consent, energy companies must seek legal right-of-entry orders to access property
- Group cites orphan wells, delayed site reclamation and unpaid municipal taxes by oil and gas companies
CALGARY, Nov 12 (Reuters) – An Alberta landowner advocacy organization is urging farmers and ranchers to “actively resist” new oil and gas development on their land, an unprecedented move highlighting growing tensions between industry and rural residents in Canada’s main energy-producing province.
Growing opposition to oil and gas development in a province that has long supported the oil industry could challenge Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to boost oil output, build new pipelines and attract new markets for Canadian energy.
The Alberta Surface Rights Federation, in a letter sent to Premier Danielle Smith on Thursday, said landowners must push back against energy development given what it calls government’s failure to deal with issues like orphan and abandoned wells, delayed reclamation of oil and gas sites, and unpaid municipal taxes owed by oil and gas companies.
And, much more important than any money, fix illegally frac’d drinking water supplies and provide frac harmed families with safe permanent alternatives. Over twenty years later, I remain waiting for my water replacement and for AER to order Encana/Ovintiv to repair the Rosebud aquifers the company brutally raped and contaminated – without consent. The hamlet residents and businesses got their frac’d water replaced years ago.
Both the federal and Alberta governments are keen to expand domestic oil production in the face of an escalating trade war with the US. It’s got nothing to do with the trade war or with Trump. Trump and his Nazis are cowards. They always back down to those who stand up to them. Fraudsters Smith, Harper and Carney are just using idiot Trump and his illegal tariffs to massively deregulate environment and rights protections across Canada to enable faster, more frequent and more brutal rapes of our lands, air, water and communities so that the rich, mostly American, get richer quicker.But the move by Alberta landowners is evidence of pushback by some who believe economic growth is being prioritized over environmental rules and regulatory obligations.
“Some of these politicians clearly don’t have long-term thinking on their minds,” said Bill Heidecker, president of the Alberta Surface Rights Federation, in an interview.
A spokesman for Alberta’s energy minister Brian Jean said the province is committed to working with landowners.ya, right. Liar Jean always says the UCP are “committed” but never acts other than to break promises, lie – a lot, massively deregulate, let companies not pay their rent and or taxes, let companies intentionally walk from clean-up, let companies walk from frac’d and contaminated water supplies, and repeat the same fucking phrase, “UCP are committed to … blabbity bla bla …”He said the government will be bringing forward legislation that addresses liabilities and orphan wells,and intentionally make taxpayers pay for the clean-up and liabilities of companies (mostly American) that raped out billions in profits and is working on a framework how often have we heard that before? Dozens of times, all going nowhere but to give more subsidies, more walk ways, more deregulation to multi billion dollar profit rapiststo assess a company’s financial viability which will ensure landowners, municipal taxes and creditors are paid by companies.
“We recognize there are frustrations that need to be addressed,” the spokesman said in an email.Ya, for decades now, all going nowhere but to steal more from Alberta landowners and tax payers to give yet more and more and more to the polluting law violating companies.
The federal government declined to comment.Of course, Carney is the worst, most sneaky, most dishonest oil and gas polluter enabler ever to con and abuse Canadians.
Heidecker, who describes himself as a conservative rancher not opposed to responsible energy developmentThat’s decades of oil and gas industry, govt, and AER Synergy Alberta propaganda talking. In Alberta, it’s been proven again and again, there is no responsible coal and oil and gas development. Perhaps there is in wind and solar, but there is none in fossil fuels, said there has been a “stunning erosion of support” for the oil and gas industry in rural Alberta in part due to the province’s struggle to cope with thousands of so-called “orphan” wells that dot Alberta’s rural landscape.And much more critical, how many water wells have been contaminated by frac’ers, and how many surface and groundwater supplies frac’d dry? None have been repaired by any frac’er. All they do, is toss a dollar or two, but make harmed landowners sign a massive charter rights violating NDA or gag order to get those measly dollars or a “forever water tank.” Below is AER’s outside lawyer, Glenn Solomon, who admitted to frac-harmed Albertan by Ponoka that that’s how oil and gas companies deal with the contamination cases they cause, so that they can keep frac’ing and contaminating “down the street” in the next community and the next and next, like kid raping Catholic priests being silently shuffled and protected and sent to the next community and the next community and the next …
AER’s outside lawyer, Glenn Solomon. ERCB was EUB and is now AER. Whenever Alberta’s energy regulator is caught doing dirty Hanky Panky, the Alberta gov’t changes its spots to con conservative Albertans, and it always works.
“And by the way by doing that you shut up, the regulators stay off our back, and we get to do it again down the street.”
Listen to Solomon yourself: Legal Advice Dec1 2014 – YouTube
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, remains popular there and his efforts to appeal to the oil industry likely helped quell a nonbinding referendum on separatism last month.That’s fucking bullshit and Reuters knows it. Albertans killed the separatists’ traitorous attempt to make our province the 51st state for the simple reason that most Albertans are proud Canadians and do not want to be American. FFS! Careny is only popular in con Alberta because he’s a fraud, he’s not a Liberal, he’s the worst of the worst Harper cons.
In September, however, a group of landowners launched legal action to argue that the province’s energy regulator has chronically and knowingly underfunded a program meant to protect the public from the cost of cleaning up these abandoned oil and gas wells.
RISKS FROM ABANDONED OIL, GAS WELLS
Studies have shown that abandoned oil and gas wells pose many risks, including potential methane leakage, drinking water, aka tapwater and soil and ground contamination, as well as the financial cost associated with cleanup.
Rural residents are also concerned about the impacts of newer forms of energy development including lithium mining and electricity generation for AI data centers and bitcoin miningwhich Herr Carney and Smith have massively deregulated, serving their American masters, Heidecker said.
In Alberta, landowners possess surface rights — giving them the right to farm the land or exploit surface resources like trees, gravel or water — but mineral rights are for the most part owned by the province, which leases them to energy companies.
Those companies then have the right to enter a landowner’s land to extract the resources.
Heidecker said his organization is not recommending that landowners physically bar energy companies from their property, but that they verbally withhold consent and refuse to sign any new surface leases.
Without consent, oil and gas companies then must seek a legal right-of-entry order to access the property.which gives landowners much better chances at suing later, when the inevitable toxic pollution and harms take place, and companies refuse to pay rent and or walk from clean-up with thoughts and prayers and blessings from AER and UCP.
Heidecker said Alberta must address issues of energy infrastructure liability and environmental regulation before pushing ahead with its proposed 1 million bpd Pacific Link pipeline project, which would increase Canada’s west coast oil export capabilities and potentially pave the way for oil and gas production expansion in the province.
Reporting by Amanda Stephenson; Editing by Susan Fenton
@rbardak.bsky.social:
It is almost always in the farmer’s best interest to have an oil and gas file for a right-of-entry order rather than sign a contract developed by oil and gas companies for oil and gas companies.
@akmk.bsky.social:
please.. resist..
@thecritninja.bsky.social:
seems like 20 years too late?
Attention Albertans: Oil & gas doesn’t love you back. It’s corporate profits over working people every damn time.
calgaryherald.com/business/alb…
@cdnjackdaw.bsky.social:
It was ever thus.
American shareholders don’t give a fk about Albertans.Neither do Alberta separatists
@beedub71.bsky.social:
They also don’t produce it to benefit people in any way. Profits accrue to shareholders and citizens are left with all the liabilities. Nationalize O&G.
@randomalbertan.bsky.social:
Been saying this for years to all my buddies who gargle on the ball sack of big oil. Every year they automate more and take jobs away.
@anchirman.bsky.social:
never have, when gov. lowered corporate taxes one quickly laid off workers.
if the gov. really wanted to help Albertans the tax cut would have been for small businesses, not corporations making billions per quarter and receiving subsides.Profits are highest they’ve ever been, so Herr Carney increased the subsidies, like the good oil and gas dildo he is.
@maggiepriceless.bsky.social:
Alberta isn’t gaining jobs. Highest unemployment rate in the country right now.
