Premier Redford says critics of energy regulation bill are ‘fearmongering’ by Darcy Henton, November 16, 2012, Calgary Herald
Opponents of Alberta’s one-stop energy development regulator bill are “fearmongering” when they claim the proposed legislation strips away the rights of landowners, Premier Alison Redford told rural politicians Thursday. Redford said Bill 2, the Responsible Energy Development Act, will empower landowners and strengthen their participation rights when they deal with oil and gas companies that seek to drill on their land. “We’ve heard an awful lot of misinformation about property rights and we’ve heard an awful lot of fearmongering,” she told the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties. “I am here today to tell you the truth.” “The criticism you’re going to hear about this legislation comes from a place of not understanding how significantly we’re transforming the regulatory process to ensure that industry and landowners are able to balance their interests and allow economic development in this province — and that is our commitment as your government,” she told the applauding crowd. ...Three University of Calgary law professors and the Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton have written articles criticizing the bill for its retraction of landowner rights, and one landowner group fears that the bill could spark violence in the oilpatch if it passes in the present form. Energy Minister Ken Hughes has already made 15 amendments to the bill, which has passed second reading in the Alberta legislature. Landowners have called the changes by the minister “window-dressing” and are demanding the restoration of outside appeals of decisions made by the regulator. [Emphasis added]
[Refer also to: Designed to Fail: Why Regulatory Agencies Don’t Work ]