A recently released survey that found oil and gas companies owe rural municipalities more than $170 million in unpaid property taxes highlights the need for solutions to be found.
The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) surveyed its 69 member municipalities about the issue, finding that the loss of the revenue is creating hardships for communities trying to make ends meet.
RMA president and Mountain View County councillor Al Kemmere said, “If Alberta’s property tax system is not amended to prevent oil and gas companies from refusing to pay property taxes, many rural municipalities will struggle to remain viable.”
The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) has come out in support of the RMA’s call for the provincial government to seek out constructive solutions benefiting both local communities and the vital oil and gas industry.
Albertans, both urban and rural, would like to see the situation peacefully resolved and hopefully that can happen soon.
Unfortunately, there have now been isolated calls by some advocacy groups for landowners to interfere with oil and gas facilities on their properties in protest against the unpaid taxes.
Such actions would be both unreasonable and potentially very dangerous.
In response, the provincial Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) has come out with a statement calling on farmers and ranchers to steer well clear of any such interference.
“It is very important that rural Albertans understand that following this reckless advice can pose risks to personal and public safety, create environmental hazards and could result in exposure to legal claims for damages and criminal charges,” the FAO says.
“Interfering with any oil and gas infrastructure or that of an electrical distribution utility could create public safety risks including spills of liquids and gases, explosions, fires and electrocution.”
Alberta’s farmers and ranchers have every right to be upset if their land is being used and they are not being adequately compensated for that use.
At the same time, those same producers should, and no doubt will, ignore calls for interference with oil and gas facilities.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Mountain View Albertan.
