AER too corrupt to stay alive? Slithering down fracs to meet Glenn Solomon (AER’s outside counsel) in Hell with $100M in budget cuts? Or, just another Kenney/AER/CAPP scam to take more money from Alberta taxpayers?

Perhaps if the 100% industry-funded (most of it foreign money) AER (previously ERCB, EUB before that, and ERCB before it was EUB) Charter-violating abusive bully to harmed landowners extraordinaire, spent less time viciously attacking impacted families and more time regulating polluters, there would be no need to cut industry’s funding by $103 million/year. Industry and CAPP must be delighted though with this buddy Kenney move.

Snap above from: https://twitter.com/molszyns

Canada, the world’s stupidest “petro” (fascist) state: Oil giants pay billions less tax in Canada than abroad

Someone else suing the Hanky-Panky-infested AER? Will Steve Allen, expensive Witchin’ Snitcher Collector, investigate?

Alberta Energy Regulator faces major overhaul by Jeff Lewis, July 9, 2019, The Globe and Mail

Alberta’s energy watchdog is bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in an overhaul that underscores renewed concern about the energy industry’s financial health. [Or using that old story as excuse to rid the foul agency of bad and or hanky panky blood? Lots of companies are still posting billions in profits, taking most of the money out of the country. Are you going to include those mostly foreign-funded multinationals in your witch hunt Premier Kenney?]

The cutbacks follow multiple investigations into the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) former chief executive and comes as it struggles with fallout from the industry-wide downturn, including a glut of defunct oil and gas wells. [Downturn? Or companies intentionally walking from their responsibilities after raping out the easy profits, the way Alberta politicians/AER/Orphan Well Club helped set up and enabled for decades? When companies are still making billions in profits and spending fortunes automating to dramatically cut out profit-eating jobs, it’s hard to see any “downturn.”]

AER interim CEO Gordon Lambert told staff in a June 24 e-mail that shifts in global oil markets mean some companies can no longer afford levies that support the regulator’s operating budget. Fees are based on a variety of factors including the AER’s revenue requirement, the previous year’s production volumes and the number of wells and operators in the province. [What’s next? Drop royalties even more, make Albertans give the greedy frac’ing scheisters more than they already are? On top of the health harms, putrid air pollution and noise impacts, community division and road destruction, livestock losses, clean up costs, contaminated water supplies and exploding community water towers, ground and surface spills and more spills waiting decades for cleanup but never getting cleaned up etc etc etc?]

[Intentionally poor controls? Like AER intentionally letting companies walk, hanging Albertans with billions in clean up costs?]

The AER oversees major oil-sands plants and pipelines in the province and had a budget of around $252.8-million in the last fiscal year. Although [100%] funded by industry, the budget is set and approved by the provincial government.

The magnitude of the cuts was not immediately known, but a source with direct knowledge of the organization’s finances said it is currently operating with an interim budget of about $150-million and that staff reductions are likely. The person was granted anonymity by The Globe and Mail because the individual was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Top executives at the AER are working closely with Premier Jason Kenney’s government “to address the challenges posed by the current fiscal situation,” Mr. Lambert wrote in the internal e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe. The final outcome of the budgeting process will not be known until September or October, he added.

“The AER, along with all levels of government, need to find new ways of operating.

Innovative leadership is required across the organization to manage in ‘new normal’ circumstances where oil and gas revenues are considerably reduced,” he wrote.

“As a result, we are examining a range of business models aimed at building a sustainable future state for the AER and our employees.”

It is unclear at this time whether the province would top up the regulator’s budget. [Meaning Albertans, already plenty raped and abused by the oil and gas industry, and it’s Charter violating, lying AER]

Scores of energy firms have collapsed in recent years, leaving behind thousands of oil and gas wells with no legal owner. Trident Exploration Corp. in April became the latest energy producer to shut down operations. It walked away after handing custody of 4,700 wells to the regulator.

Earlier this month, the United Conservative government stepped in with $23-million in emergency tax relief to head off further bankruptcies of struggling natural gas producers.

The AER is also embroiled in investigations launched by Alberta Ethics Commissioner Marguerite Trussler, Public Interest Commissioner Marianne Ryan and Auditor General Doug Wylie into a consultancy run by its former CEO, Jim Ellis. [Too funny!]

He led the AER for five years but resigned abruptly last fall amid allegations that he diverted public resources and money for a startup nonprofit.

[Harmed Albertan on Ellis’ departure: “Good riddance, bring in the next dickhead.”]

Spokeswoman Cara Tobin said the AER would seek additional funding after the provincial budget is released but is reviewing options now in anticipation of cuts. [Billion dollar profit-taking, AER enabling, walking from responsibility, industry whining/threatening for more handouts or else?]

“While we are undertaking this work on the assumption that we will face a budget reduction, it is too early to speculate about details such as staffing levels at this time,” she said in a statement.

Mr. Kenney pledged during the spring election campaign to fire the AER board in response to industry criticisms over lengthy delays to major projects and new drilling permits. However, much of the board remains intact. [Roaring Laughter!]

Energy Minister Sonya Savage’s office did not respond by deadline Tuesday.

In May, Mr. Kenney appointed a panel led by former Saskatchewan NDP finance minister Janice MacKinnon to assess the province’s finances ahead of a fall budget. A report is expected by mid-August.

Refer also to:

But only if you are a concerned citizen, harmed landowner or cookie making grandmother, not if you are a polluting company or aquifer frac’er like Encana. (The head in the poster is ex-Premier Ed Stelmach, who defended the EUB/then ERCB/now AER spying on innocent Albertans!)

2007 07 28: Why is AER (then EUB) so reviled?

2011 10 06: ERCB (now AER) Bulletin 2011-29: Massive Deregulation to Alberta-wide Framework for Well Spacing for Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs

2012 02 07: 171,000 frac’d wells later, the Alberta energy regulator, the ERCB (previously EUB, soon to be AER) trots out Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Directive

2013 08 23: Alberta report commissioned by ERCB (now AER) reviewed pipeline rules, not leaks; Review finds “best in class” pipeline rules not strong enough to protect water

2014 02 22: Taking a regional approach to fracking: AER (previously ERCB, previously EUB, and ERCB before it was the EUB – every time the regulator gets caught breaking bad, Alberta government changes its spots)

2014 03 31: Devastation Day for Alberta’s Water: The Oil and Gas Industry takes over total control of Alberta’s Fresh Water as “No Duty of Care” Spying AER now a single regulator, 100% funded by industry, takes over Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and Water Act

2013 07 25: New Report: Less than 1-percent of Tar Sands Environmental Infractions Penalized by Alberta’s “Best in the World,” “World-Class,” “No Duty of Care,” spying, lying and law violating ERCB (now AER)

2013 09, posted in 2014, 4:43 Min:

Above clip of AER’s outside counsel, Glenn Solomon, on how companies shut you up when their frac’ing contaminates your drinking water, keeping AER off their back and letting companies do it again “down the street.”

2014 05 14: Alberta’s Energy Regulator (AER) continues to deregulate, more 100% industry funded deregulation to come

2015 01 20: Why does the “No Duty of Care” AER, legally immune, even for failing to protect Albertans and water from hydraulic fracturing, need a Liability Management Coordinator?

2015 04 15: AER Duty of Care Anywhere? Judge decries chaos, uncertainty around liability of public authorities: “Such a low standard would immunize government from liability in every case of bureaucratic ineptitude, no matter how substandard or damaging the misconduct may be. No court anywhere has set the bar that low.” Except in Alberta?

2015 07 09: How High does Bullshit Fly in Alberta’s Oil Patch and AER?

2015 07 17: AER Frac Pilot Project: Earthquakes, tax increases, water restrictions, double homicide, spills and accidents shake Alberta town’s faith in fracking; Aging sour facilities in deregulated Fox Creek a big worry for council; AER’s FracQuake Red Light stops Chevron only 16 days; Families moving out

2015 08 03: AER allowing more than 22,100 oil and gas wells to violate the rules for years. What other law violations is the AER allowing?

2015 10 14: Fracing the Bow River: “The most important resource in the province, and the rarest, is water” Then why let “No duty of care,” legally immune, Ex-Encana led, Charter violating AER permit multinationals to frac it?

2015 10 16: AER gets a frac “expert,” a liar no less?

2015 11 23: Bravo! Prevent Cancer Now calls out AER’s Health Fraud! “The AER has no jurisdiction for human health, and Alberta is famed for a chill against the medical community linking ill health to petrochemicals.”

2015 10 30: What’s in the milk? AER orders Bonavista to deliver safe water to cows at Edson, but not to Albertans living with dangerous levels of Encana’s frac’d gases in their water & homes

2016 01 15: Is “Best in Class, Shut the Frack Up” AER a regulator or abusive enabler of deadly harm? Bad air: Oilpatch toxic air still fuming in Alberta despite regulator huff ‘n puffing

2016 01 31: Canada Revenue Agency owes taxpayers a general legal “duty of care,” but not AER to citizens harmed by the regulator’s gross negligence, fraud and cover-up of illegal fracking? CRA not allowed to intimidate, threaten us, but AER is, including in bad faith, falsely labeling us as terrorists and violating Charter rights?

2016 04 22: AER trying to con the world again and look like a regulator? AER to study risks of aging energy infrastructure. Who’s going to do the study? CAPP?

2016 AER Admin Fees, CAPP a Begging: Research to Con the Public to give Social Licence While Wiping out Legal Liability for Companies?

2016 05 27: “Where does the buck stop?” AER to appeal ruling on oil, gas cleanup obligations. Chief Justice Wittmann found Alberta’s oil and gas licencing regime to be unconstitutional relating to money, but not in Ernst’s “valid” constitutional claim against AER relating to drinking water contamination by oil and gas

2016 07 14: Alberta averages two crude oil spills a day for decades and all the AER can do is “urge” companies to improve detection of pipeline leaks? When is AER going to “urge” Encana to fix Rosebud’s frac’d aquifers?

2016 07 21: “God We’re Dumb!!” Enbridge to pay $177 million for 2010 USA pipeline spills. What does Encana pay for illegally frac’ing Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers in 2004? Nothing. Does the government, AER & Alberta Environment stop Encana from fracing fresh water zones after contaminating the community’s drinking water supply? No.

2016 08 01: Why isn’t AER’s Fox Creek Frac Frenzy Regulatory Failure front page news?

2016 09 07: Family begs Alberta NDP government for help & compensation, two years after fleeing farm poisoned by Baytex. Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) investigates explosion at shut-in Baytex wellsite, When will AER investigate Encana intentionally & illegally frac’ing Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers in 2004, when will Alberta government file criminal charges?

2016 09 16: The Oil & Gas Industry Way: Lie (a lot); Pollute you and your loved ones, communities, livestock, air, land, food and water; Arrogantly & smirkingly violate laws, regulations and promises knowing the legally immune, “No Duty of Care” AER violates laws and citizen rights to protect polluters; Rip you off while dumping their legal liabilities on you after taking $billions in profits

2016 09 09: U of Calgary, U of Alberta get $75 million *each* from Canadian taxpayers to legitimize (synergize) and spread AER/CAPP/petroleum industry propaganda, to enable continued devastation and harms to Alberta’s environment, communities and people and spread them across Canada

2017 02 07: AER gets failing grade for efforts to acquire, report accurate scientific data! Alberta “guessing” when it comes to spill recovery. “AER failure to protect the environment.” AER “off the scale in terms of believability….” Researcher Dr. Kevin Timoney sums up his forensic investigation: “Persistent, pervasive danger to society and ecosystems.”

2017 02 22: AER reacting again to heaps of bad press? Cherry picking data for public display? Do you trust the lying, Charter violating, legally immune, fraudulent pollution enabling AER? Energy deregulator starts tracking company performance to try to reduce pipeline spills. Why now, decades too late? PR spin?

2017 02 24: Three years after inquiry held after many years of AER enabling industry’s poisoning of families, Alberta regulator many years too late releases rules on heavy oil’s toxic air pollution (AER calls it “odors”). Will industry give a damn? Will AER enable “rule” violations as usual?

2017 04 24: AER’s $300 Billion Ponzi Scheme Closer to Fruition? Alberta Court of Appeal favours creditors over the environment, upholds Redwater decision. Did AER set this up to create horrific legal precedent to let companies hang their toxic pollution and massive damages on the public via the impotent Orphan Well Program?

2017 07 06: AER trying to pretend it’s a regulator? Trying to deflect from Nikiforuk’s reporting on life-threatening leaking energy wells in Calgary, Medicine Hat, Calmar, Edmonton, more?

2017 09 21: Whimps Extraordinaire! Ex-Encana VP (Gerard Protti) led AER taps Encana with $7,500 administrative penalty for major sour gas blowout at Fox Creek Alberta, Nothing for injecting 18 million litres of frac fluid into Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers.

2017 12 06: Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffft, AER Hopes on a Rope & Farts out Puff Piece Propaganda Directive 67. With brilliant comments by Diana Daunheimer, censored by our media

2018 02 22: Frac Water Orgy Announced by AER’s Mark Taylor (ex-manager Encana who lied to Rosebud, said Encana would never frac their drinking water). No Wonder AEP is Taking Water Licences Away from Farmers/Ranchers: AER grants 10 year blanket approval water licences; Companies need not know where they will frac, or how much they will frac or where they’ll get their water from. Companies “expected” to look at sources other than fresh drinking water, eg hydrocarbon contaminated groundwater, but not if contaminated with methane!

2019 06 19: Falling for AER/ERCB/EUB (industry)’s scam, decade after decade: AER, Surface Rights Board, Orphan Well Association bamboozling (synergizing) Albertans about Trident Exploration walking from it’s environmental and financial obligations in CMAG Synergy meeting, June 25, 2019

2019 06 27: Premier Jason Kenney gives oil & gas industry $30 million gift from taxpayers to attack concerned citizens courageous enough to speak out, Gives not one penny to fix Rosebud’s drinking water aquifers frac’d illegally by Encana, covered-up by “No Duty of Care” AER

Slides above and below from Ernst speaking events

Ernst presenting in Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Ernst was judged by the EUB a “criminal” in 2005. ERCB outside counsel Glenn Solomon changed this to “terrorist” in 2012. Both judgements were completed by the regulator without any evidence, no charges, no arrest or fingerprinting by RCMP or any authority, no hearing, no trial. The regulator did not ask Ernst to testify or submit a written statement. Ernst didn’t know she was being judged, until after the judgement was mailed to her, banishing her from energy regulation.

Six months later, in full McCarthyism regalia, EUB bully lawyer extraordinaire, Rick McKee, used red-baiting trickery trying to make Ernst admit to crimes she had not committed to justify the regulator violating her Charter rights. McKee failed, making a mockery of the regulator, and admitted the EUB had never seen Ernst as a threat.

In 2017, the EUB/ERCB/AER’s judgement was transformed into “vexatious litigant” by Supreme Court of Canada Justice Rosalie Abella – also without any evidence, hearing, or trial, and also with no chance given to Ernst to defend herself to this judicial smear.

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Supreme Petro-State Court of Canada

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