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Alberta Election May 2015


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Potentially good new for the Federal Tories. Any legitimacy that the NDP can gain from Notley's win could help them reclaim some voters from the Liberals - creating more Left splits that benefit the Tories. I anticipate a little bump for the Federal NDP at the expense of the Liberals - at least in the short term. All speculation of course....but that's half the fun! It's really shaping up to be a very interesting Federal election

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http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/alberta-election-2015-ndp-sings-for-joy-harper-s-caucus-like-morgue-1.3063472

... Tory caucus ... working through various stages of fear, denial, blame and regret.

"It was more like a morgue. Someone said it was like it's Albertastan now," said Justice Minister Peter MacKay.

Oooo ... Such a classy 'dog' that Peter MacKay!!!

:/

I reckon that stupid comment is going to come back in his face, as it should. Mind you I am hearing so many ridiculous comments from the Harper cabinet, especially lately with regard to Duffy, C 51, and of course most recently Khadr, its sort of becoming just another day in the life of the federal government. October cant come soon enough.

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Wonder what Quebec will do without Alberta's money?

Nothing that has happened or will happen will interrupt the net outflow of Alberta income tax $ to Quebec, Manitoba, the Maritimes and ... Ontario.

The concern with the economy is not that companies will move their office to Vancouver. It is that they'll move their money somewhere else on the panet. There were already some big projects cancelled last year before the big oil price crunch.

The two things that are going to speed that process are our national inability to build the infrastructure to get our resources to market(: pipelines,LNG facilties and marine terminals) and a shifting uncertainty with tax regimes.

That just got worse on both counts.

Yeah, we can bluster and blubber all we want about fighting the oil companies, but the reality is there are many, many places to make a profit. Increasingly, Canada is not one of them. They just shrug and move their billions to other projects that are less hassle and more profitable. You know, like what happened with the manufacturing and industrial output of North America.

While we bicker, the jobs are gone for good.

And we did it to ourselves.

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Read this thread from the beginning. It was interesting to see the predictions. Personally I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the PC's wouldn't win 4 weeks ago. It just became unfashionable to vote PC. Interesting read. Lots of good posts.



--On the point of "experience":
The previous PC's had PLENTY of 24-28 year old MPs and candidates. You just don't see them because they, you know, lost. Had the PC's won, you can bet no one would be asking about their "life experience".

Secondly the PC's just finished losing $13 billion because they didn't do their own royalty calculations properly. I worked in the Alberta Department of Energy and I've done mock royalty clculations and they're not that hard. Calculating linear taxes for pipelines is much harder.

So "experience" doesn't actually translate to competence.




--On the mood of Alberta:
Someone said: "This election was a vote against the PCs, not a vote for the NDP.". Well certainly the electoriate was angry at the PC's. But they were angry at them last election too, and up until a few weeks ago it was always the Wildrose that got the benefits of this. Why not this time? No, I'm sorry I disagree. Yes the electoriate was angry at the PC's but to characterize this as a protest vote and nothing more is to delude oneself on the mood in Alberta. If it were merely a protest vote you wouldn't have had the best turnout in 25 years. Truth is albertans are sincerely ready, (for the most part) to actually give them a chance. Also even though many Albertans may not like what they define as NDP politics, many of them still *love* Rachel Notley.

If I had a dollar for every Albertan who told me that they voted PC all their life but "never again"....

--On taxes and "socialism".
First taxes: When you add in PST Alberta will still be one of the cheapest provinces in the country to do business in.

Alberta corporate tax rate: 10% + proposed 2% = 12% + 5% GST = 17%

Sask corporate tax rate: 12% + 10% sales tax (total GST+PST) = 22%

BC corporate tax rate:
11% + 12% sales tax (total GST+PST) = 23%

Ontario:
11.5% + 13% HST (total GST+HST) = 23.5%

Secondly Ralph Klein faced a similar situation wiht low oil prices and a inherited deficit. The taxes during his time:
2003 under Klein
Corporate tax rate: 13%
Small Business tax:4.5
Small Business threshold: 250k

NDP proposed increases:
Corporate tax rate: 12%
Small Business tax: 3%
Small Business threshold: 500k

So if Notley is a socialist because she's introducing a higher corporate tax, then by the same logic Ralph Klien was even more so a socialist, and we all know that's laughable.



-- On reviewing the royalty rate:
Does she even have to? Given that she need merely calculate the royalties properly to gain another $2.5 billion per year she may not even bother.



-- On the "economic engine of Canada":
Assuming for a moment that this is even true, I don't care. What does being the "economic engine of Canada" do for Alberta beside provide jobs to the millions of people who move to Alberta as unemployment refugees who don't care about Alberta they just want some money? Most of them are currently sucking their thumbs threatening to move back to Peterborough, or Regina, or Prince George or some other place that only has fewer jobs today than when they left. I say, go ahead, leave.
Maybe by this time next year a $300K home will be priced at $400K instead of $500K. It would be hard to accurately describe how sick I am of wading through BC, Sask, Ontario license plates during rush hour.

I'm sorry to say this too but generally speaking the people oil jobs attract are generally single young men in the trades. These guys run around in their $100,000 monster trucks driving drunk half the time and spend the rest of their time getting into bar fights and stabbings. You can all leave. I'd rather be poor and stuck with 100,000 communist lesbian single mothers on welfare than give just one(1) more job to one of these social miscreants. Go get drunk and drive your monster truck in Prince George. I'm sick of you.


At the end of the day it comes down to guts. Some of us in Alberta have the guts to demand more from the oil companies than just "a job", especially if it's just for Canadians from elsewhere who couldn't care less if Alberta succeeds or it sinks or what kind of place it becomes. And we have the commitment to return to the 1980's if they don't like it.

Others live their lives too scared to demand what we deserve for allowing companies to pull the oil out of the ground. They're the guys that do whatever their bosses ever told them, and take whatever scraps are offered. They are lickspittle and they're welcome to leave.

Edited by Claudius
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You know, like what happened with the manufacturing and industrial output of North America.

.

Manufacturing is nothing like resource extraction.

Manufacturing jobs can move anywhere. The oil is where it is. It doesn't pack up and move to Mexico. Many countries have driven hard bargans with oil companies and almost exclusively the oil companies say, "Well you drive a hard bargan" and then sign on the dotted line.

You can probably think of a dozen examples off the top of your head of manufacturing jobs moving. Instances where oil companies said, "Meh. Leave it in the ground" are rarer. Oil companies that are extracting oil paying their workers $1/day in Nigeria are still more than happy to also extract in Alberta and pay tons more. It has been this way for years.

With the WTI jumping from $45/barrel to $63 in just 3 weeks, the price of oil is going nowhere but up and the oil companies aren't going anywhere, with or without a (minor) tax increase.

http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx

Edited by Claudius
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Manufacturing is nothing like resource extraction.

Manufacturing jobs can move anywhere. The oil is where it is. It doesn't pack up and move to Mexico. Many countries have driven hard bargans with oil companies and almost exclusively the oil companies say, "Well you drive a hard bargan" and then sign on the dotted line.

You can probably think of a dozen examples off the top of your head of manufacturing jobs moving. Instances where oil companies said, "Meh. Leave it in the ground" are rarer. Oil companies that are extracting oil paying their workers $1/day in Nigeria are still more than happy to also extract in Alberta and pay tons more. It has been this way for years.

With the WTI jumping from $45/barrel to $63 in just 3 weeks, the price of oil is going nowhere but up and the oil companies aren't going anywhere, with or without a (minor) tax increase.

http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx

But you did prove the point that the rest of Canada cannot survive without manufacturing jobs.

Plus considering the fact the NDP hate all that is oil .

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This was a completely classless move. They elected him as their MLA and he throws it back in his constituents' faces because if he can't be the boss he's taking his ball and going home. Now his constituency has to vote again.

I agree it was classless but what was interesting is the PC's filled a confernece center of people for $500/plate a few weeks eariler.

When he resigned there weren't more than a dozen supporters in the room that weren't his family. So long as he had the promise of some poiwer they could suck off of him they stayed with him. The moment he didn't, the bailed on him. Shows what kind of people the PC supporters can be.

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But you did prove the point that the rest of Canada cannot survive without manufacturing jobs.

Plus considering the fact the NDP hate all that is oil .

Sure - wasn't the point of contention though was it? The point was will the oil companies stay or go. If you're looking for some kind of victory in what is actually a pretty simple point - manufacturing can manufacture anywhere - then you're welcome to it I guess. I never thought the point about manufacturing needed to be proven. It's not rocket science.

NDP hate oil? It's hard to take that kind of rhetoric seriously. It fits in with "Albertastan" and fears of Lenin statues being erected. I prefer realistic commentary. Let's be real: no one "loves" oil. They just love the money. Subsequently "hating" a bad oil deal, or poorly managed oil resources, isn't the same as hating oil.

Edited by Claudius
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Sure - wasn't the point of contention though was it? The point was will the oil companies stay or go. If you're looking for some kind of victory in what is actually a pretty simple point - manufacturing can manufacture anywhere - then you're welcome to it I guess. I never thought the point about manufacturing needed to be proven. It's not rocket science.

NDP hate oil? It's hard to take that kind of rhetoric seriously. It fits in with "Albertastan" and fears of Lenin statues being erected. I prefer realistic commentary. Let's be real: no one "loves" oil. They just love the money. Subsequently "hating" a bad oil deal, or poorly managed oil resources, isn't the same as hating oil.

Fair enough but the NDP Mantra of "MAKE THE RICH PAY" does have a tendency to make the rich leave. Free will and all that stuff.

The NDP winning was a protest vote and rightfully so after that arrogance and mismanagement second only to Ontario but now they have too govern and I think they will will find it is not that easy. The Alberta NDP need the oil that will earn them the money that I am sure will fill the coffers of every union in the province but what will happen when the oil companies don't want to play anymore? Yes there is only one Alberta but it is not going anywhere and neither is the oil ,what business can do when they do not wish to play and they have proven that with Ontario during the nightmare that was Bob Rae is just shut down and wait. If Notley does not play nice the oil companies may just stall with court cases and such to wait for a new government.

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Yes there is only one Alberta but it is not going anywhere and neither is the oil ,what business can do when they do not wish to play and they have proven that with Ontario during the nightmare that was Bob Rae is just shut down and wait. If Notley does not play nice the oil companies may just stall with court cases and such to wait for a new government.

Exactly, we all saw how quickly oil companies abandoned billions of dollars worth of planned projects in Alberta with last years downturn....many local companies folded and capped marginal fields (fields that were marginal at $100+ bbl), likewise the larger international companies with long term leases (that have no interest in refining in Alberta, a promise of the Alberta NDP) have no reason to restart production in a punitive environment.....they will still hold most of the leases post 2020.

Unless the new Alberta Government signals quick to industry that it will be largely business as usual, and the price of oil returns to $100+ bbl, one must be delusional to think the Alberta energy sector will return to what it was this time last year..........Alberta's loss will be BC and Saskatchewan's gain.

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Exactly, we all saw how quickly oil companies abandoned billions of dollars worth of planned projects in Alberta with last years downturn....many local companies folded and capped marginal fields (fields that were marginal at $100+ bbl), likewise the larger international companies with long term leases (that have no interest in refining in Alberta, a promise of the Alberta NDP) have no reason to restart production in a punitive environment.....they will still hold most of the leases post 2020.

Unless the new Alberta Government signals quick to industry that it will be largely business as usual, and the price of oil returns to $100+ bbl, one must be delusional to think the Alberta energy sector will return to what it was this time last year..........Alberta's loss will be BC and Saskatchewan's gain.

Business as usual is what got the PCs thrown out on their ear. The NDP has already signalled they want to work together with business. And they dont control the price of oil by the way.

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Business as usual is what got the PCs thrown out on their ear. The NDP has already signalled they want to work together with business. And they dont control the price of oil by the way.

I never suggested that they did control the price of oil, but they do control tax rates in the Provinces, likewise the amount of royalties to be paid to the Province........

As such, when the Alberta energy sector is already faced with declining profitability (due to the market price of oil), combined with higher taxes and higher royalty payments, the NDP Government will have to signal it will be business as usual or business won't return to Alberta, but Saskatchewan and North Eastern British Columbia.

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"punitive environment"

"what business can do when they do not wish to play and they have proven that with Ontario during the nightmare that was Bob Rae is just shut down and wait."



Can anyone explain why this didn't happen in 2003 during a recession, poor oil prices and higher corporate taxes than Notley's proposing?

Again:
2003 under Klein, (WTI) price of oil was $25/barrel. They rose to $50 in 2004. By then Alberta was in the black again.
In 2003:
Corporate tax rate: 13%
Small Business tax:4.5
Small Business threshold: 250k


NDP proposed increases:
Corporate tax rate: 12%
Small Business tax: 3%
Small Business threshold: 500k


Did the companies just shut down and wait then? No? Then why now? Because..."NDP!....SOCIALISTS!!."?

Shut down of new development is standard during times of poor oil prices. Nothing to do with NDP. Oil prices are on the rise again and they won't have to get to $100 to see change. 4 weeks ago they were at $43. Today they're at $63. At the current rate they'll be $85 before the middle of June.


A lot of people are going to have to hope for continued low oil prices to save face on all the oomsaying over the NDP.

Edited by Claudius
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I never suggested that they did control the price of oil, but they do control tax rates in the Provinces, likewise the amount of royalties to be paid to the Province........

As such, when the Alberta energy sector is already faced with declining profitability (due to the market price of oil), combined with higher taxes and higher royalty payments, the NDP Government will have to signal it will be business as usual or business won't return to Alberta, but Saskatchewan and North Eastern British Columbia.

For starters Canada has been giving away its resources for chump change for far too long, especially in Alberta. And now that the price of oil has tanked, if you still want health care it has to be paid for. So you may have to pay a little sales tax, such as the rest of the country has done for decades.

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"punitive environment"

"what business can do when they do not wish to play and they have proven that with Ontario during the nightmare that was Bob Rae is just shut down and wait."

Can anyone explain why this didn't happen in 2003 during a recession, poor oil prices and higher corporate taxes than Notley's proposing?

It happened in 2009, during the Stelmach royalty review, which translated into investment dollars earmarked for Alberta being spent in Saskatchewan instead......Estevan is the new Fort Mac.........

And in today's news:

Saskatchewan is hoping to benefit from Alberta’s recent election upset.

The province’s Minister of Immigration, Jobs, Skills and Training, Jeremy Harrison, said they have would welcome investment from Alberta’s energy sector into their province.

“There is uncertainly in Alberta right now with respect to the Royalty Review that the new government has promised, that they campaigned on. We’ve seen CEOs of companies, publically say that they are looking at reallocating their capital expenditure budget this year.”

As sung by Alberta's own Corb Lund..........it will be a long four years for Alberta.

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You link doesn't prove anything. It's wishful thinking from Saskatchewan. The first line says it all: "Saskatchewan is hoping to benefit from Alberta’s recent election upset."

Key word there is "hoping". From your link:

"David McLean from Alberta Enterprise said some of the organization members have expressed concern.

“There are some elements of the NDP platform that aren’t necessarily good for business – increasing corporate taxes, increasing minimum wage, proposed Royalty Review – but that said I think it is a little hasty to be writing off Alberta as an investment jurisdiction.”

Again:
Alberta corporate tax rate: 10% + proposed 2% = 12% + 5% GST = 17%

Sask corporate tax rate: 12% + 10% sales tax (total GST+PST) = 22%

Not to many CEOs dumb enough to leave projects they've heavily invested in to move to somewhere charging the same corporate tax and more PST.
The argument simply doesn't hold water.



BTW Sasksatchewans royalty rate has been higher than Albertas for years. I still see the influx of workers from Saskatchewan coming here. Can't throw a rock in the air without it landing on a Sask. license plate.

BBTW the Corb Lund song is about a cattle man leaving Alberta because the oil business is doing too well taking up all the land and the capitalist bankers ruining everything. Look up the lyrics yourself.

Just saying.

Edited by Claudius
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Not to many CEOs dumb enough to leave projects they've heavily invested in to move to somewhere charging the same corporate tax and more PST. The argument simply doesn't hold water.

BTW Sasksatchewans royalty rate has been higher than Albertas for years. I still see the influx of workers from Saskatchewan coming here. Can't throw a rock in the air without it landing on a Sask. license plate.

What's the minimum wage in Saskatchewan versus the soon to be wage in Alberta? Likewise, with royalty rates, you're comparing Saskatchewan's current rate with Alberta's current rate......what will the new Alberta rate be?

Also, you've demonstrated that Alberta will reduce its current corporate tax advantage to that of Saskatchewans.......Likewise, the Alberta NDP Government has stated they will raise rates on high income earners, are not energy jobs high income?

Likewise, the new Alberta government has stated they will "curb greenhouse gases", well encouraging further refining in Alberta......an oxymoron no doubt, but a mixed message to industry.

Now you've stated such companies won't leave projects they've invested in, but you're wrong, the oil companies have already left/paused billions of dollars of investment.....waiting out the NDP Government won't be difficult, and is far more predictable then the price of oil.

Edited by Derek 2.0
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"What's the minimum wage in Saskatchewan versus the soon to be wage in Alberta?"

Has it actually raised yet? No? Okay. I don't actually believe it will be raised by $5 but we'll see. Remember that minimum wage in alberta raised only last September (?). Business hardly blinked.

---"Also, you've demonstrated that Alberta will reduce its current corporate tax advantage to that of Saskatchewans"

IF you don't include provincial sales tax. This is also a burden on companies.

---"Now you've stated such companies won't leave projects they've invested in, but you're wrong, the oil companies have already left/paused billions of dollars of investment"

As I said, stalling NEW projects during times of low oil is commonplace. Even though it's popular to report this in the news now, because of the upset in Alberta, the truth is this has been going on since February. We lost 6000 jobs in 2 weeks during February. The NDP don't have anything to do with is, which seems to be your implication. Naturally business would love to make that implication too, even if it is nonsense.

---"Likewise, the new Alberta government has stated they will "curb greenhouse gases", well encouraging further refining in Alberta......an oxymoron no doubt, but a mixed message to industry."

On this issue we agree. (Yah!) I don't actually see this coming to pass. You can only increase current capacity so much, and building new refineries can take a decade. It's also doubly a mixed message since refinement is much more GHGs than mere extraction.



The bottom line in Alberta is that despite being "business friendly" the government is in billions in deficit. Mostly this is because of the PC's. They've mismanaged, sabotagued the budget predictions and straight up stole our money, then wisked Redford away like mafiosos protecting one of their own when they've attracted too much 'heat'.

The deficit has to be addressed. The parties proposed the following:

-The PC's wanted Albertans to pay for their mistakes. We know how that went.

-The Wildrose said they would offer no new taxes but instead would slim down government. Well you're not going to make a multi-billion dollar shortfall by trimming down a government the size of Alberta's, so that means they'll make cuts. Cutting services our taxes payy for is exactly the same as increasing taxes to maintain them. Albertans rejected that too.

- The NDP said they will make up the short fall through royalties and corporate taxes. The people spoke. Now naturally business is going to push back, make a lot of noise in the news papers and so forth, but it's my belief that at the end of the day with oil prices >$80/barrel, they'll go ahead and pay it. Especially if they paid MORE corporate tax when oil prices were LOWER in 2003.

The people have spoken, and I for one am more than willing to go back to being "poor" than ripped off. Saskatchewan can go ahead and get ripped off if they like, but they don't have as much oil as Saudi Arabia, so....

Also I would point out that despite all the doomsaying and low oil prices, the job rate has actually climbed in Alberta, slightly ever since February:
http://economicdashboard.albertacanada.com/Unemployment

Edited by Claudius
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Has it actually raised yet? No? Okay. I don't actually believe it will be raised by $5 but we'll see.

So you're suggesting the NDP won't follow through on their promised min. wage hike? What makes you think that?

IF you don't include provincial sales tax. This is also a burden on companies.

So too is the Well Drilling Equipment Tax, which the NDP said they will "adjust".

As I said, stalling NEW projects during times of low oil is commonplace. Even though it's popular to report this in the newsnow, because of the upset in Alberta, the truth is this has been going on since February. We lost 6000 jobs in 2 weeks during February. The NDP don't have anything to do with is, which seems to be your implication. Naturally business would love to make that implication too, even if it is nonsense.

And Alberta is going to lose even more jobs.......The head of Crescent Point Energy, one of the largest energy investment firms in North America, has stated clearly to investors that they will invest elsewhere if the NDP Government even reviews royalties, let alone raise them.......The other large corporations (Cenovus, Shell, Chevron, Sucor etc) will be forced to follow, or face being bent over the barrel by both the Alberta Government and their own shareholders.

The bottom line in Alberta is that despite being "business friendly" the government is in billions in deficit. Mostly this is because of the PC's. They've mismanaged, sabotagued the budget predictions and straight up stole our money, then wisked Redford away like mafiosos protecting one of their own when they've attracted too much 'heat'.

The bottom line is that the new NDP Government will continue as is with the energy sector or it will face double digit unemployment and a bankrupt Province, and will be replaced in 2019.

Those that think the NDP have any leverage in a lousy oil market are delusional.....As companies in Alberta have paused production and exploration during the drop in oil price starting last Summer/Fall, so to will they continue to do so for another four years until the NDP is thrown out......the companies hold the leases, so the dinosaur bones under Alberta are not going anywhere.

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The previous PC's had PLENTY of 24-28 year old MPs and candidates. You just don't see them because they, you know, lost. Had the PC's won, you can bet no one would be asking about their "life experience".

Please provide an example of the PLENTY that you're talking about. Also be very specific to show their lack of experience and more importantly their lack of desire to actual to run for the MLA seat (as I have shown with the NDP)

Someone said: "This election was a vote against the PCs, not a vote for the NDP.". Well certainly the electoriate was angry at the PC's. But they were angry at them last election too, and up until a few weeks ago it was always the Wildrose that got the benefits of this. Why not this time? No, I'm sorry I disagree. Yes the electoriate was angry at the PC's but to characterize this as a protest vote and nothing more is to delude oneself on the mood in Alberta. If it were merely a protest vote you wouldn't have had the best turnout in 25 years. Truth is albertans are sincerely ready, (for the most part) to actually give them a chance. Also even though many Albertans may not like what they define as NDP politics, many of them still *love* Rachel Notley.

Yes...I said it. The last election wasn't called early nor did the PC's accept the Wild Rose defectors. Add to it that in 2012, the Wild Rose was hit hard by that one candidate making harsh claims about homosexuality and the lake of fire. Most Albertan's aren't into the really far right wing thing. All this aside, the largest factor in play here was again the teachers and civil servants unions. The last election the PCs promised a ton of benefits at the last minute which swung the unions votes to the PCs. This time the PCs knew that it will be unsustainable to maintain those 'highest in Canada' payscales and was looking to cut back. Hence the mass exodus with the unions. If anything, it just goes to show how much power the unions have in Alberta.

Rachel Notley was just the right person, saying the right things to win over the unions but also she had the PCs shooting themselves in the foot to win over the rest.

--On taxes and "socialism".

First taxes: When you add in PST Alberta will still be one of the cheapest provinces in the country to do business in.

Alberta corporate tax rate: 10% + proposed 2% = 12% + 5% GST = 17%

Sask corporate tax rate: 12% + 10% sales tax (total GST+PST) = 22%

BC corporate tax rate: 11% + 12% sales tax (total GST+PST) = 23%

Ontario:11.5% + 13% HST (total GST+HST) = 23.5

All sales taxes (PST, HST, and GST) are flow throughs for a business meaning it doesn't actually affect them. They collect the tax for the government from the end user and remit it after deducting the sales taxes they have paid on purchases. The expense is passed on to the end user. With oil, most of that is shipped out of country where the end user can claim tax exemptions and not have to pay this.

Secondly Ralph Klein faced a similar situation wiht low oil prices and a inherited deficit. The taxes during his time:

2003 under Klein

Corporate tax rate: 13%

Small Business tax:4.5

Small Business threshold: 250k

NDP proposed increases:

Corporate tax rate: 12%

Small Business tax: 3%

Small Business threshold: 500k

So if Notley is a socialist because she's introducing a higher corporate tax, then by the same logic Ralph Klien was even more so a socialist, and we all know that's laughable.

In 2003, Saskatchewan was being run by and NDP government that didn't care to develop its oil resources. Its only been as of late that Saskatchewan Party (a right wing government) has started to develop oil resources and make it a serious competitor for Alberta. Also, at that time BC's tax rates was even higher than Alberta.

. And we have the commitment to return to the 1980's if they don't like it.

Seriously??? This has to be one of the stupidest comments I've heard on here. Why would we ever want to or need to do that? Left wingers are complaining about the ability to buy a house now? Try doing it with 20% interest rates.

I think its funny how so many people are so hard done by in Alberta when unemployment is low, pay is high and overall job security is really good. I guess people need to know how bad it can get to appreciate the good times.

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---"So you're suggesting the NDP won't follow through on their promised min. wage hike? What makes you think that?"

Because promises often get deluted after an election.




---"And Alberta is going to lose even more jobs."

Listen if you're not going to listen to me or read my posts then let's stop pretending you're responding. I just finished showing you that jobs have increased steadily since Februrary. So before Alberta can "lose more jobs" they'll have to stop gaining them so easily won't they?


-- "The head of Crescent Point Energyone of the largest energy investment firms in North America,"

Cresent point energy is a tiny player, new to Alberta with new projects and does most of their business in Saskatchewan already.

"Crescent Point Energy Corp. is an oil and gas company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company focuses primarily on crude oil production in southern Saskatchewan. As of year-end 2012, Crescent Point employed 303 people.

Crescent Point's 2011 capital expenditures budget has been set at C$800 million. Execution of the budget is expected to increase average daily production to more than 112,000 barrels per day (17,800 m3/d) of oil equivalent, weighted approximately 90% to oil."

Seriously: 303 employes and you call it one of the largest investment firms in North america?


--"Shell, Chevron, Sucor"

If you think Shell is going to close down a trillion dollar investment over LESS royalties than they paid in 2003, WHEN THEY STARTED DEVELOPMENT, you're the one who's delusional.


--"The bottom line is that the new NDP Government will continue as is with the energy sector or it will face double digit unemployment and a bankrupt Province, and will be replaced in 2019."

No that's just your prediction, considering your prediction of the election I don't find it compelling.


It's plain you're just here to argue pointlessly while ignoring the other person so I'll be ignoring you from here on in.

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