AB Pol Econ

25May

By albertarecessionwatchNo Comments

Opinion/Research

Government needs a set of fresh eyes to look at Investment Manager

Few Alberta municipal workers, health care workers, police officers, or provincial civil servants have ever heard of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). This corporation, established by statute in 2007, and operating since 2008, now manages over $90 billion in investments, including the assets of the Heritage Fund. The corporation manages money for 26 pension, endowment, and government entities. AIMCo manages over $46 billion on behalf of roughly 336,000 active and retired members of public pension plans representing hundreds of government and agency employers. Prior to 2008, the management of these large investment funds had been undertaken by public servants employed by the Finance Ministry. The success of this organization is important for all Alberta residents, not j...

Budget 2016

Prelude to First Quarter Fiscal Update More dreary news surfaced on 11 August when July's drilling rights sales were announced by the province's energy department. The CBC post based on Dan Healing's article (link below) showed how volatile this source of revenue has been for the Alberta government. In 2011 when oil and gas prices were high and the Montney and Duvernay formations were "discovered", $3.5 billion poured into the province's coffers versus perhaps $125 million this fiscal year. Data on the number of land sales per year. the number of parcels sold, the value of the sales and the average price per hectare is available at Alberta energy land sales history. Institute for Public Economics' Post Mortem on Provincial Budget April 2016 As reported in the Edmonton Journal on Fr...

Redwater court decisions sides with lenders

Redwater Resources -Update Originally published 21 May 2016 The Alberta Court of Appeal on 24 April upheld Justice Wittman's judgment supporting Grant Thornton as receiver in the Redwater Resources case. The Redwater court decision promises to become a showdown between the capacity of lenders to realize on the security of oil wells versus the rights of the Crown, the owner of the resource and the regulator. In a densely worded 58 page decision, Mr. Chief Justice Neil Wittman of the Alberta Court of Queen`s Bench ruled in favour of the trustee in bankruptcy of Redwater Energy Corporation, a secured creditor of Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB Financial- was owed $5.072 million). The highly anticipated decision favoured creditors`rights over environmental regulation. According to Just...