February 4, 2019 (Edmonton) – Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel is proposing a strategic management plan for the current government curtailment of oil production in Alberta as part of his holistic energy strategy.

“While we appreciated the importance of this decision being enacted to narrow the crude differential and stop Albertans from giving away our resources, we were told that this action had been recommended last spring by bureaucrats in the Energy department who saw a looming crisis. Unfortunately, that advice was not heeded quickly enough and was only employed as a reactive tool when the government had a crisis on its hands,” said Mandel.

“Now, again, the government is facing a problem in that the economics of shipping a more expensive Alberta crude product by rail doesn’t make sense. We achieved what we needed to which was close the gap but have likely overcorrected. We need to find the sweet spot.”

“This requires adaptive responses that react quickly to market signals. In order to do this we would invite industry organizations to work with our Energy Ministry as part of a standing advisory group that would be able to advise on targets and policy on an ongoing basis until such time as market access issues are resolved,” concluded Mandel. 

The Alberta Party is committed to Alberta, and to the values of prosperity, fiscal and social responsibility, environmental sustainability, accountable government, and strong communities.