Recent comments made by Rachel Notley over the royalty review has left many dumbfounded, and is an embarrassment according to Wildrose leader Brian Jean. When Notley gave an interview to the Edmonton Sun whet the Premier said was seen as offensive by many. Notley commented that “I think that folks need to settle down a bit. That being said, the energy industry is going through great changes right now so as much as we want to restore stability and predictability, we’re trying to do that in a context where the price of oil is incredibly volatile.” The premier also pointed out that in the past a review was undertaken every 18 months by the previous premier Peter Lougheed. Brian Jean quickly responded to the interview and stated “I’m not going to speak for Rachel Notley. I’m frankly embarrassed by her. Right now, I am not embarrassed by Alberta.”

Brian Jean also pointed out the many differences between the reviews which happened under the previous administration and the review that Rachel Notley is defending. Jean argued that during the time when Lougheed was premier there were not the current market issues and the climate concerns and geopolitical instability that are an issue today. Jean went so far as to say that Notley’s comments were ridiculous. Jean continued by remarking that “When you’re investing $5 billion to $15 billion, those shareholders say if you don’t find the right investment and don’t invest properly, you’re fired. To send those shockwaves into the marketplace clearly causes a tremendous amount of unpredictability and people flee the marketplace. We’ve already seen the reactions from the market.”