Groups want Alberta’s new Energy Regulator chair removed

EDMONTON – More than 30 groups, including Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Sierra Club, are calling on the Alberta government to remove Gerry Protti as chair of the province’s new energy regulator.

The groups, which include First Nation, landowner, labour and environmental organizations, say Protti’s background in the oil industry is evidence of a real or perceived perception of bias.

“How can anyone have faith that they’ll get a fair, unbiased shake when the new chair couldn’t be more of an oil industry insider,” said Don Bester with the Alberta Surface Rights Group.

According to Alberta Energy, Protti has more than 35 years’ experience in the energy industry. He was executive officer of EnCana Corporation and a predecessor company PanCanadian for 15 years.

He was also the founding president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and served as assistant deputy minister with Alberta’s energy department.

“Oil and gas already runs the show and the province just appointed the founding President of CAPP to be the judge and jury – it’s atrocious and I don’t think any land owner should stand for it,” added Bester.

“We’re supposed to be creating boards that are impartial,” stresses Eriel Deranger, spokesperson for Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, “and when you appoint someone who is a co-founder of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and his whole career is based on the interest in the prospering of an oil and gas industry, it looks pretty bad. He is not  an unbiased voice.”

They have sent a letter calling on the Alberta government to remove Protti and use public consultation to appoint “a more balanced person for the position.”

(The full letter is posted below.)

Energy Minister Ken Hughes is asking people to wait until the new energy regulator is established entirely.

“I would respectfully ask people to wait until we actually get the full board appointed, the panel of commissioners, and get this new regulator up and running,” he told Global News Friday.

“You’re not looking for people who are representative of any one group,” he added.  “What we will be looking for is ensuring that there are people there that can have an appreciation for environmental concerns, an appreciation for landowner concerns, and the diverse needs of this complex society that is Alberta today.”

Despite criticism, Hughes defends the appointment of the former oilfield executive.

“Gerry Protti is one of the most balanced people in society in terms of his approach to issues,” said Hughes.

“He has an unusually diverse background of somebody who has served in public service, who understands the challenges of implementing public policy and who has experience in the industry,” Hughes said in an interview Tuesday.

He added Protti’s experience with CAPP and his training in board governance will make him well-suited to take on the leadership of the new entity.

Some critics have expressed alarm at Protti’s deep connections with the industry, but Hughes said his industry experience will be balanced through the appointment of a diverse board of three to five members and a chief executive.

However, opposition members have already voiced their frustration with the decision and how it might impact Albertans.

“Basically the new regulator has an obligation to Albertans to protect our water and our air and land and to ensure that our oil and gas development is sustainable,” said NDP critic Rachel Notley. “Albertans need to trust that is what happening and that’s not going to happen when we appoint someone as closely tied to industry as Protti.”

Liberal Leader Raj Sherman is also worried.

“I am concerned that the government has dropped the ball on the environment,” he said.

However, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said she feels Protti is the best person for the job.

“I have a measure of confidence that somebody with that background may be able to put forward the kind of massive change to the new single regulator that will take in the interests of the public as well as the interests of industry,” she said. “I think he is the type of person who sees it from both sides.”

The job pays $165,000 base salary plus an additional $13,000 in per diems that can be claimed in the first year and $10,000 in subsequent years of the five-year appointment, Hughes said.

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With files from Darcy Henton & James Wood, Calgary Herald

The letter reads:

We the undersigned are very concerned about the Alberta government’s move to a single energy regulator and its appointment of Gerry Protti, former founding President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) as its new chair.

The move to a single regulator means fewer eyes will assess the environmental and social impacts of energy projects. Fewer people will regulate and enforce Alberta’s environmental regulations. It also concentrates power in fewer hands so that landowner rights and Treaty impacts may not be properly addressed. This new approach appears to favour proponents and limits the opportunity of interveners to raise valid concerns. The fact these decisions will now be overseen by someone, like Gerry Protti who has such a reasonable perception of bias undermines the credibility of the whole Alberta regulatory process.

We the undersigned hereby demand that Gerry Protti, be asked to step down from his role as chair of the Alberta Energy Regulator and that more consultation should be done to ensure concerns around the single regulator model are fully and adequately addressed.

The former founder of CAPP is not an appropriate choice to head the Alberta government’s Provincial energy regulator.

Sincerely,
1. Alberta Federation of Labour
2. Alberta Surface Rights Group
3. Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
4. Alberta Wilderness Association
5. Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
6. Canada’s Citizens Climate Lobby
7. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
8. Central Athabasca Stewardship Society
9. Change Alberta
10. Cleanwater Foundation
11. Council of Canadians
12. For Our Grandchildren (4RG)
13. Forest Ethics Advocacy
14. Global Exchange
15. Green 13
16. Greenpeace Canada
17. Greenspiration
18. Indigenous Environmental Network
19. Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign
20. Kainai Lethbridge Earth Watch
21. Keepers of the Athabasca
22. L’Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique (AQLPA)
23. National Farmers Union
24. Peace River Environmental Society
25. Polaris Institute
26. Public Interest Alberta
27. Residents for Accountability in Power Industry Development
28. Sierra Club Canada
29. Sierra Club Prairie
30. Springvale Surface Rights Association
31. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
32. Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta
33. United Landowners of Alberta
34. Vegans & Vegetarians of Alberta
35. West Athabasca Water shed Bioregional society
36. Windfall Ecology Centre