If you have 1.5 hours to throw away, watch this session. Warning, it’s a shoddy, meaningless, repetitive, coddle the new AER Board and UCP govt, irritating waste of time.
Why is the 100% industry-funded AER ICORE scandal eating up taxpayer dollars and govt time with a “Public Accounts Standing Committee?”
This is industry’s problem, not Albertans’.
***
A new shill in town? Paid for out of Kenney’s $30Million War/Propaganda Room? Or maybe by AER?
Shills and staff working at AER, govt and Encana, have been calling me crazy for years, starting in 2004 when I began publicly pointing out – with documented evidence – the regulator’s failings and Encana’s law violations. Every time I point out a new unsavory truth about oil patch corruption and or pollution in Alberta, the “crazy” smears begin anew. Supreme Court of Canada defamed me too, with the nastiest smear a litigant can be hit with. Unsavory truths made public piss off many.
Comments to this post being posted on ASRG Facebook Page:
Etown Dre This is the kind of unhinged shit that gets made public when anyone and everyone has the ability to publish on the internet.
Rob Schwartz Etown Dre ; Those were exactly my thoughts as I watched the Bev Yee video. Have you watched it yet ?
Etown Dre I haven’t watched the video yet. I was commenting on the author’s near-conspiracy-theory level rambling.
Rob Schwartz Etown Dre ; perhaps best to watch the video prior to commenting.
Etown Dre There’s enough evidence in the title of the article to tell the author is unhinged. And, just a few sentences in, it’s obvious the author doesn’t understand what’s going on.
“Why is the 100% industry-funded AER ICORE scandal eating up taxpayer dollars and govt time with a “Public Accounts Standing Committee?” “
That’s the purpose of the public accounts committee. It gives the opposition the opportunity to hold government-sanctioned groups accountable. [Except the opposition did little but coddle the AER like Bev Yee and UCP did. One needs to watch the entire clip to see this. If any authority truly wanted to hold AER accountable, charges would have been laid when Diana Daunheimer first pointed out the dirt going on long ago. Who was the whistle blower? Diana?]
Etown Dre Just finished the video. I stand by my comment about the author and article being unhinged, and double-down on my comment about their lack of understanding about what’s going on.
Rob Schwartz Etown Dre ; That is your 3rd use of the term “unhinged”. I must assume that you are a qualified psychoanalyst in order to make such a public statement or did the word unhinged just appear out of nowhere during a recent chemically induced moment ?
Etown Dre It’s my opinion Rob. Assume what you like.
Etown Dre What the hell… I’ll make this even easier on you
Mark Dorin It’s a real shame that the AER treats this as if it it is an isolated incident as opposed to being emblematic of most everything the AER does. We are to have confidence that the AER is focused on things like safety, right after I have spent the entire morning unsuccessfully trying to get the AER to do something about safety all morning. I don’t think the AER has any staff in Edmonton that could recognize an unsafe situation if they say one.
Rob Schwartz Jim Ellis is the fall guy. The ICORE concept originated 20 + years prior to Jim Ellis being appointed to head the AER. Both the EUB and the ERCB had their own version of their regulatory missionary work that was actively spreading the concept of regulatory “excellence”. The AER staff that Ellis supposedly conscripted through fear to do ICORE’s world wide work would have been in place long before Ellis was of legal drinking age. It would appear to be intentionally remiss on Bev Yee’s part to not refer back to this regulatory history . Maintaining an “investigative” focus on Jim Ellis and ICORE may be a PR plan to distract from the continued questionable AER business as usual.
Mark Dorin Rob Schwartz Bev Yee was full of it – I’m sorry there is no other way to put it.
Rob Schwartz Mark Dorin that is why she gets the big bucks.
***
Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Meeting in Rocky Mountain Room
Tuesday, Dec 3, 2019
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM, 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Most telling UCP statement and question in the session:
UCP Devinder Toor:
“Page 53 also states that industry was aware of ICORE activities, concerned about the misallocation of resources and raising concerns. What has the department learned about ensuring industry is being listened to….”
[Typical UCP, only concerned about industry being listened to. When will industry-harmed landowners and the health harmed public be listened to?]
Ms. Yee was mighty well prepared and arrogant in her deflections, bravado, and responses during this “Public Accounts” standing committee session on a 100% industry-funded problem. Did the UCP and NDP give Ms. Yee their questions beforehand for her to prepare and practice her deflections and boasting?
Comment to the article below:
David Schafer
So, the criminal charges against Jim Ellis will be laid when? And what are the plans to recover the monies stolen from Albertans [IT WAS NOT STOLEN FROM ALBERTANS, IT WAS STOLEN FROM INDUSTRY] by him? I’ll sit here holding my breath.
Alberta Energy Regulator chair details what went wrong, how to get back on track by Lisa Johnson, December 3, 2019, Calgary Herald
The interim board chair of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) said it has beefed up its rules [What good will that do? AER ignore the “rules” and the Rule of Law] and expanded whistle blower training to prevent another mismanagement debacle. [“Teaching” all staff that if any dare expose Hanky Panky, corruption and law violations by the AER and/or industy they will be promptly fired with their pension taken away?]
Bev Yee, now steering the board of the provincial regulator tasked with overseeing energy development in the province, appeared before a standing committee of the legislature Tuesday to detail how the regulator would prevent something like the botched International Centre of Regulatory Excellence (ICORE) from happening again. [Cover-up, cover-up, cover-up with better threats to AER staff to keep quiet about the endless filth being smeared around at the regulator]
“While it’s true that ICORE was perpetrated by a small group of people, the fact that it was allowed to evolve so far beyond the original concept highlights shortcomings in the AER’s controls,” said Yee, who also pointed to a “culture of fear” created by a select group of senior leaders. [Why is Yee, the media (getting paid for their propaganda out of Kenney and CAPP’s 30 Million dollar war room?) and other committee members so heavily laying on this “culture of fear” crap? Trying to make the public feel sorry for the AER so as to make sure the culture of law violations, 2 oil spills a day, sour gas leaks and vents, public health harms, landowner harms, massive pollution harming many continues? To make sure industry gets to keep abusing Albertans and the environment? To make sure AER gets to keep on breaking the law, and violating Charter rights of harmed Albertans? To make sure companies keep on being allowed to bankrupt themselves whenever their profit0-taking is done and walking from clean up?]
ICORE began between 2014 and 2015 to help with internal staff development, said Yee. In 2016 ICORE went external, as the former CEO, Jim Ellis, tried to establish it as a for-profit entity before it dissolved in 2018.
A report from Alberta auditor general Doug Wylie found at least $2.3 million of AER money was spent by ICORE and never recovered. About 50 AER employees who were employed by AER were found to have done work for ICORE.
The auditor could not find formal approval of an arrangement that allowed Ellis to claim travel expenses between his home in B.C. and the Calgary office. The AER reimbursed Ellis $20,000 for those expenses in 2018 before Ellis left the regulator.
The agency also gave up $1.3 million covering employees’ tax costs for parking benefits, even though a government employee told senior executives the tax rules in 2014, the auditor found.
The AER has accepted all of the recommendations of the auditor general and is working on addressing each one, including updating and educating its staff about its whistleblower policy, travel and expense policy, and its code of conduct, Yee said.
A lot of staff members were unaware of their own organization’s whistleblower policy, said Charlene Graham, general counsel for AER.
The whistleblower’s identity remains confidential, and the interim board has hired external counsel to see if there is any legal action that could be taken against previous members, Yee said.
The government has not completed its review of AER, but it is looking at communication channels so that there is clear understanding on the part of AER on policy, said Yee.
“I think just strengthening governance will go a long way to solving these problems.”
The board chair should have reported directly to the energy minister, but that relationship was broken, and the CEO went directly to the minister instead, said Yee.
It would have been difficult for the minister and those overseeing the AER to understand the extent of the organization’s problems, Yee said.
“In our assessment there was a lot of deception going on, and a lot of information being withheld.”
Strengthening the relationship between the CEO and the board chair would help, since the former CEO may have felt it was acceptable go directly to the minister, said Yee.
Today, both Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon understand that they cannot entertain a conversation with the AER CEO unless the board chair is involved, Yee told the committee.
Staff engagement shows that changes made so far have already had a significant impact, but the AER will also roll out a new organizational structure, the chair said.
Hiring a new CEO will be the new board’s weightiest job. [It’s challenging finding a quality Hanky Pankster who won’t get caught like McCrank (EUB law violating, spying and lying scandal) and Ellis did]
“Our ability to assess and hire and recruit the right person at the top who will set the tone [Do Hanky Panky for industry, but don’t get caught!] of the organization,” said Yee.
Headline later changed and article updated to:
Deception, culture of fear plagued Alberta Energy Regulator, says interim chair by Lisa Johnson, Dec. 4, 2019, Calgary Herald
The interim board chair of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) said it has beefed up its rules and expanded whistle blower training to prevent another mismanagement [Mismanagement? That’s a new one. The AER ICORE scandal reads more like criminal acts were conducted by a number of higher ups and staff] debacle.
Bev Yee, now steering the board of the provincial regulator tasked with overseeing energy development in the province, appeared before a standing committee of the legislature Tuesday to detail how the regulator would prevent something like the botched International Centre of Regulatory Excellence (ICORE) from happening again.
“While it’s true that ICORE was perpetrated by a small group of people, the fact that it was allowed to evolve so far beyond the original concept highlights shortcomings in the AER’s controls,” said Yee, who also pointed to a “culture of fear” created by a select group of senior leaders.
ICORE began between 2014 and 2015 to help with internal staff development, said Yee. In 2016 ICORE went external, as the former CEO, Jim Ellis, tried to establish it as a for-profit entity before it dissolved in 2018.
A report from Alberta auditor general Doug Wylie found at least $2.3 million of AER money [100% INDUSTRY FUNDED AER, THEN AND NOW] was spent by ICORE and never recovered. About 50 AER employees who were employed by AER were found to have done work for ICORE.
The auditor could not find formal approval of an arrangement that allowed Ellis to claim travel expenses between his home in B.C. and the Calgary office. The AER reimbursed Ellis $20,000 for those expenses in 2018 before Ellis left the regulator.
The agency also gave up $1.3 million covering employees’ tax costs for parking benefits, even though a government employee told senior executives the tax rules in 2014, the auditor found.
The AER has accepted all of the recommendations of the auditor general and is working on addressing each one, including updating and educating its staff about its whistleblower policy, travel and expense policy, and its code of conduct, Yee said.
A lot of staff members were unaware of their own organization’s whistleblower policy, said Charlene Graham, general counsel for AER.
The whistleblower’s identity remains confidential, and the interim board has hired external counsel to see if there is any legal action that could be taken against previous members, Yee said.
The government has not completed its review of AER, but it is looking at communication channels so that there is clear understanding on the part of AER on policy, said Yee.
“I think just strengthening governance will go a long way to solving these problems.”
The board chair should have reported directly to the energy minister, but that relationship was broken, and the CEO went directly to the minister instead, said Yee.
It would have been difficult for the minister and those overseeing the AER to understand the extent of the organization’s problems, Yee said.
“In our assessment there was a lot of deception going on, and a lot of information being withheld.” [As also occurred under Chair Neil McCrank, when AER was EUB and ERCB, including the regulator violating Charter rights of frac harmed Albertans]
Strengthening the relationship between the CEO and the board chair would help, since the former CEO may have felt it was acceptable go directly to the minister, said Yee.
Today, both Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon understand that they cannot entertain a conversation with the AER CEO unless the board chair is involved, Yee told the committee.
Staff engagement shows that changes made so far have already had a significant impact, but the AER will also roll out a new organizational structure, the chair said.
Hiring a new CEO will be the new board’s weightiest job. [It’s challenging finding a quality Hanky Pankster who won’t get caught like McCrank (EUB law violating, spying and lying scandal) and Ellis did]
“Our ability to assess and hire and recruit the right person at the top who will set the tone [Do Hanky Panky for industry, but don’t get caught!] of the organization,” said Yee.
Alberta revamps energy regulator in bid to polish environmental image by Carrie Tait, May 13, 2013, The Globe and Mail
This article was published more than 6 years ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.
Alberta’s energy sector is getting a regulatory overhaul as the province aims to burnish its environmental reputation and show it has a firm hand [Pffft! Glorious lies and propaganda!] on the torrid pace of oil and gas development.
The revamp comes at a crucial time: The energy-rich province has faced criticism for its environmental regulations, penalties, and enforcement rules and track record. [Or because of the Ernst lawsuit?]
… The regulatory makeover faces numerous challenges. The government is folding all regulatory powers, now scattered among separate bodies, into one entity, dubbed the Alberta Energy Regulator. The new organization must prove itself superior to the old system, demonstrate its new tougher fines will make a difference in behaviour in the oil patch, and remain independent. [Pffft again. EUB/ERCB/AER have never been independent, industry tells the gov’t and regulator how things will be done] The government expects the transition to take about a year.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) will disappear and regulatory powers within provincial departments such as Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development will be transferred to the Alberta Energy Regulator in June. It is part of the government’s attempt to streamline the regulatory process, something the industry has been seeking for years.
The arm’s-length organization has named Gerry Protti, the founding president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers [And more significantly conflict of interest and corruption wise, was VP of Encana and Cenovus, and on the Board of the Alberta Research Council that fraudulently investigated water contamination cases in Encana frac fields, sleazily blaming nature and the impacted landowners] – the energy industry’s lobby group – as its chairman. Mr. Protti spent 15 years at natural gas giant Encana Corp., and also served as assistant deputy minister for Alberta’s energy department. No one questions whether he understands the oil and gas business.
Some however, question his independence.
Mr. Protti, along with Energy Minister Ken Hughes, tapped Jim Ellis to serve as the regulator’s chief executive officer. Mr. Ellis served as deputy energy minister and led the government’s “oil market diversification strategy,” essentially leading Alberta’s push for pipelines.
Mr. Protti and Mr. Ellis will be praised if they can patch up the regulatory system’s current shortcomings.
Richard Dixon, executive director of the centre for applied business research in energy and environment at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, points to Directive 74 as an example of the ERCB’s past failures.
The rule is designed to force companies to clean up toxic tailings ponds tied to oil sands mining more quickly, and Suncor Energy Inc. met the demands. But when Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Imperial Oil Ltd. fell short of the ERCB’s standards, they were still allowed to proceed. The ERCB said Imperial, for example, would meet the directive’s objectives over the lifetime of the project, just not within the legislated timelines.
“There’s been no credibility at all with anyone on how Directive 74 has been managed,” Mr. Dixon said. [EUB/ERCB/AER never had any credibility]
Alberta has also been accused of poor transparency and foot-dragging. The ERCB’s chief operating officer rejected a request from staff to hold a public inquiry into the Rainbow Pipeline spill, according to documents obtained by Greenpeace Canada. A break in the Rainbow Pipeline two years ago was the largest spill in Alberta in 36 years. Plains All American Pipeline LP, the pipeline’s owner, could face up to $1.5-million in fines after the government laid charges this April.
Suncor spilled waste water into the Athabasca River for three days in March, 2011, but the accident was not made public until March of this year, when Alberta’s Environment and Sustainable Resource Development ordered Suncor to keep the waste-water pond closed off from the river, find the source of the toxic elements in the water, and review its treatment process.
Mr. Protti argues the new system, which comes with fatter fines, will be improved through stronger governance. Board members will no longer be the same folks sitting on hearing panels and running operations. These roles will be separated. Further, the rule-making process will also change. Policy questions will be removed from the regulator and put to the energy and environment ministers through the new policy management office.
“You’re going to earn your respect day by day, issue by issue, hearing by hearing,” Mr. Protti said. “What I’d like to do is get third parties, frankly outside the province of Alberta, maybe internationally, commenting after we’ve been operating here for a few months, a year. How are we doing?” he said.
Refe also to:
Alberta Energy Regulator ramping up the propaganda, ready to expand global impact
This cartoon shows what the EUB/ERCB/AER does best, from Justice Perras 2007 Report on EUB’s (Chaired by Neil McCrank) lying and spying scandal (and during which the regulator was investigated and also found to have broken the law.):
