Way too much, according to author and former Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft.
Taft takes a deep dive into the influence of big oil on the politics and policy direction of our province in his new book, Oil’s Deep State: How the petroleum industry undermines democracy and stops action on global warming – in Alberta, and in Ottawa.
As leader of the Official Opposition from 2004 to 2008, Taft had a front-row seat in the debate over raising Alberta’s natural resource royalties where it became clear that private interests had captured democratic institutions.
“A democratic institution is captured when it serves a private interest over the public interest,” Taft wrote in an op-ed on AlbertaPolitics.ca.
Taft meticulously details the impact powerful forces from the oil industry had over Alberta during the long-reign of the old Progressive Conservative government and the influence it still exerts over Rachel Notley’s New Democratic Party government in the never-ending debate over oil pipelines.
“There should be a ruckus in Alberta about royalties, looming costs of reclamation, and global warming. Instead there is quiet, and in democracy quiet is rarely a good sign,” Taft wrote.
It’s true.
The public is welcome to attend book launch events in Edmonton and Calgary.
Edmonton Book Launch
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Telus Centre Room 150 (111 St & 87 Ave, U of A Campus)
Calgary Book Launch
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Room EA-1031, Faculty of Arts, Mount Royal University
2 replies on “How much influence does the oil industry have over Alberta politics?”
The oil companies will ‘cut and run’ as the ‘conventional’ oil runs out. But they’ll abandon the tar sands first as there really is no viable market for bitumen going forward.
Meanwhile they’ve created toxic messes all over.
Rather than aiding and abetting, Canadians and Albertans should listen to Taft and stick them with the massive cleanup bill before they get away.
Way to much-The province could go bankrupt cleaning up the mess.