A few Lakeland mayors were part of talks last Friday with Canadian Senators as doubt continues to be raised over a bill with oil and gas-sector ramifications. The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association along with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers set up the talks in Edmonton between independent senators and leaders of communities that may see negative effects from Bill C-69. Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland was in attendance. He says the meeting was a way to show senators what effects federal ruling can have on the local economy.
“We’re trying to show that we’ve already experienced huge job losses in our community. House values have gone down 25 percent. We’re trying to paint a local picture.”
Bill C-69 would make changes to major project assessments in the country. The argument made by Alberta politicians is the changes will make pipeline and oil and gas projects unfeasible in the eyes of major industry players. Copeland says uncertainty is not what the area needs right now.
“The big fear on Bill C-69 is it will add to the already lengthy process to get anything done in this country. That is my biggest concern.”
On Tuesday the Senate’s committee on energy, the environment and natural resources announced that they will be holding public meetings across the country on the proposed bill.