Soon Alberta will see the results and recommendations of our current royalty review panel, the second such review in eight years, which will potentially once again change the rules by which energy royalties are calculated.

According to Brian Bietz, President of Bietz Resources and Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee for the Calgary Chamber, and Policy Director Justin Smith, this creates two important areas of uncertainty, and therefore concern: how the current review will affect rates, and the lack of policy surrounding what could trigger the next review.

Read their op-ed in the Calgary Herald on what these areas of uncertainty mean for Alberta business.

As the voice of the business community in Calgary, the Chamber's Human Resources Committee provided responses to the Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour's discussion guide on the introduction of essential services legislation for public sector collective bargaining dispute resolution.

This issue is important to Chamber members since labour disputes can be disruptive and can have a big impact on the business community's ability to operate efficiently and effectively. 

View our official submission on the proposed essential services legislation.

Our energy industry and energy systems are in the midst of fundamental changes. Now is the time when we must envision both Canada and Alberta’s energy future. We need new ideas, more collaboration, and more engagement to develop a new energy future for Alberta.

To help embrace this shift, the Calgary Chamber and Energy Futures Lab are proud to announce the selection of Chamber Policy Director, Justin Smith, to the Energy Futures Lab Fellowship. He will be joining 39 other influential leaders from government, NGOs, industry, academia, First Nations and community groups working to lead a transition to an economically and environmentally sustainable energy system in Alberta.

Read more about Justin's appointment to the Energy Futures Lab Fellowship.