Bob Bromley

Thank you. I think that’s the reason why we went to a payroll tax is because we can’t just tax people that live somewhere else and fly in and out. That’s why we went to the payroll tax and that’s why we have this cost of living tax credit as you’ve just explained.

Why couldn’t we simply increase the tax and increase the cost of living tax credit to protect residents?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to see devolution to start being implemented here and especially happy because my colleagues and I are able to ask questions and attempt to hold our government accountable for these decisions.

Following up on my earlier questions to ITI on taking over as the oil and gas regulator, I’d like to ask the Premier why is ITI the regulator when we know ITI interprets this role to be one of promoting and subsidizing industry. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Surely, the promoters should not be the regulators. Mahsi.

No, it isn’t, Mr. Chair, but I’ll see if I can dig it out. It wasn’t said today; I’m referring to before today. But within the last year, I think, the intent was to put the program review office to looking at compliance issues on the collection of the payroll tax, but I’ll try and dig that out.

Many Members have recommended that this be raised. Why was it not raised in this budget?

Thanks to the Minister. I’d like to respond to that. Tar sands ponds that leak six million litres of contaminated tailings per day into the Athabasca River, steamed crude oil bubbling up through northern Alberta wetlands in multiple sites, coal mine tailings ponds collapsing. That is the record of the Alberta Energy Regulator in just the last six months.

Do we really grow responsible capacity, as the Minister says, by bringing so-called experts with such a poor record and pro-industry bias into our regulatory system? Why did we not simply continue with the National Energy Board? Mahsi.

Thank you. This is obviously related to the internal auditing and so on as well. I’m just wondering if we know what those issues are that have caused the Minister to suggest that this should be reviewed by the program review office.

Yes, thanks. Sorry. The question was: How are they related and how do they work together? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of ITI. I would like to follow up on his statement from earlier today. We have just recently learned that ITI will be taking over as oil and gas regulator as of April 1st. The previous regulator was the National Energy Board, a public board – a public board – with a mandate to ensure that all oil and gas development was in the national interest. As this is just a few weeks away, I wonder if the Minister can tell me what the mandate of the oil and gas regulator will be. Mahsi.

Mr. Chair, I see that this office seems to have a role in collections. I am wondering if the comptroller general’s office does have a function in the administration or collection of the payroll tax. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, just to be fully accurate here, what Mr. Kalgutkar meant, I think, was that this will catch us up to the point where we will continue to subsidize at $11 million to enable the Power Corporation to do their business. I guess I’ll leave it at that. The will of committee and interest of committee and having those dollars moved from subsidies into more efficient ways of addressing the cost of living for our residents has once again been ignored. I just want to make that clear with this.