EDMONTON — Critics fear Alberta’s new United Conservative premier is preparing to bring in a program that would use billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded royalty breaks to subsidize energy companies to fulfill their legal duty and clean up old wells.
The so-called RStar proposal, developed by an industry group, has been criticized by legal experts, energy economists and the province’s own internal analysts.
But for more than a year, Danielle Smith and newly appointed members of her cabinet have been outspoken advocates of the plan, which would enable companies to use reclamation spending to gain credits against royalty payments.
“I love it,” Smith said on a 2021 YouTube broadcast, when she was a lobbyist for the pro-business Alberta Enterprise Group. She also wrote a supportive letter that July as group president to then-energy minister Sonya Savage.
Peter Guthrie, now Smith’s energy minister, has expressed his support in the legislature.
“I’m encouraging all members of this house and the community at large to support RStar,” he said in April 2021.
On Oct. 22, the day after joining the cabinet, Guthrie told the Airdrie Today newspaper that RStar was one of his top priorities.
“RStar is a pilot project that incentivizes the cleanup and reclamation of wells, and in doing so, it creates a royalty credit for future drilling,” Guthrie told the outlet.
Other newly fledged cabinet ministers such as Jeremy Nixon of Seniors, Community and Social Services have also expressed support for RStar.
The Canadian Press has asked both Smith and Guthrie if they still support RStar. Neither have responded.
But critics say the idea appears to remain high on the agenda for the new Smith-run government.
“(Smith) has made it perfectly clear this is a screaming hot, flashing-neon priority for her,” said Regan Boychuk of the watchdog group The Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project, whom Smith consulted on the program.
Under RStar, companies would earn credits for remediating old wells up to the total liability the well represents as calculated by Alberta’s energy regulator. That credit would then apply against revenue earned from new production to reduce royalties or be sold to another operator.
“It’s like moving more of your income into a lower tax bracket,” said Andrew Leach, a University of Alberta energy economist who has seen the proposal’s details.
Proponents say the program would encourage new drilling, help clean up Alberta’s 170,000 abandoned wells and create jobs doing both. In the letter written when Smith was still a lobbyist, she quotes a consultant who says $20 billion in RStar credits would create 366,000 jobs and $8.5 billion in royalties.
Critics aren’t so sure.
Leach said RStar would subsidize work that almost all companies do anyway as a legal condition of their drilling licence.
“The companies that are going to be able to take advantage of this are the companies that aren’t distressed,” he said.
“We’re not worried about companies that have active drilling programs and are meeting their reclamation targets. They’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to do and (we’d be) giving them additional credits with substantial value.”
There’s even less need for the program when oil prices are high, Leach said. He said it’s more likely $20 billion in RStar credits would simply cost the government $5 billion in foregone royalties.
Boychuk said in addition to transferring wealth to companies that don’t need it, RStar would use a taxpayer-owned resource to bail out hundreds of Alberta companies that have run their wells dry without cleaning them up.
“Danielle Smith’s program would hand them money for free,” he said. “It’s flabbergasting. It’s sheer robbery.”
Opposition New Democrat Energy Critic Kathleen Ganley said the plan reverses the foundation of environmental law.
“It’s a violation of the polluter-pay principle,” she said.
Ganley said there are no guarantees the program would create new work. Nor would it be open to scrutiny.
“There’s no clear, straight line that it would start new work as opposed to work that’s already underway except the public would be paying for it. And they would be paying for it in a way that’s not clear to them.”
Even Alberta Energy staff have expressed doubts.
In a June 30, 2021, letter obtained by The Canadian Press, Savage wrote to the Freehold Owners Association, a group representing private owners of mineral rights.
Savage, then energy minister and now in the Environment and Protected Areas portfolio, said: “The proposal does not align with the province’s royalty regime or our approach to liability management and upholding the polluter-pays principle.”
Nevertheless, said Boychuk, it may be coming Alberta’s way.
“It has been (Smith’s) personal priority for two years. Alberta is very close to having it rammed down its throat.”
Ganley warned that RStar could be brought in without going through the legislature — unless second thoughts prevail.
“One can only hope that being briefed on the file and having information from the department will assist them in making better decisions. Many might consider that optimistic.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2022.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
___
Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
