Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon and Minister of Energy Sonya Savage issued the following statement on reports released Oct. 4 by the Auditor General, Ethics Commissioner and the Public Interest Commissioner on previous leadership of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER):
“Recent reports from the Auditor General, Ethics Commissioner and Public Interest Commissioner reveal a disturbing number of unscrupulous activities within the Alberta Energy Regulator’s leadership over a number of years from 2015 to 2018.
“Public servants are beholden to the taxpayers they serve, and we cannot condemn the practices noted in these reports strongly enough. Our government was elected on a promise to reform the AER, which is precisely why we have already taken action, launching a review of the AER in August and replaced the board in the same month.
“Leadership starts at the top, and Albertans need to trust that their regulator will operate effectively, efficiently and transparently with an eye to improving outcomes for our resource industries, landowners and the environment. These reports cite several troubling and unacceptable examples of conduct that demonstrate that the focus of the AER’s previous leaders clearly lay elsewhere, a clear betrayal of the organization’s obligations to Albertans.
“The recommendations contained within these reports will inform our government’s review of the AER, and we would expect the interim board to implement these recommendations.”
Release of Ethics Commissioner report on AER
Today the Government of Alberta is releasing the Report of the investigation under the Conflicts of Interest Act by Hon. Marguerite Trussler, Q.C., Ethics Commissioner, into allegations involving Jim Ellis.