_QR77 Newsroom
3/9/2010
Changes to energy royalties in Alberta are to be announced Thursday with the release of a report on the industry's competitiveness.
Energy Minister Ron Liepert is to make the announcement in Calgary, where most of the province's energy firms are based.
Investment has plummeted in Alberta in the last couple of years since the province restructured royalties to boost government revenues.
Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith says the royalty changes have been a costly disaster, and have dried up energy investment and jobs in Alberta.
Her party has put forward a strategy calling for lower royalties, especially for natural gas, and faster environmental approvals for drilling projects.
Smith says that approach could lure back energy investment and increase total royalties that plunged dramatically last year.
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