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ARTICLE · 18 MAY 2012

Alberta's New Energy Minister Confident In Alberta's Energy Resources

DLA Piper
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Newly appointed Energy Minister, Ken Hughes, has been tasked with taking on one of Alberta’s most crucial portfolios which requires a juggling act involving the demands of government, the demands of the public and those of industry, all while Alberta’s oil industry is under the microscope.

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Jennifer Cleall
Jennifer Cleall
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Newly appointed Energy Minister, Ken Hughes, has been tasked with taking on one of Alberta's most crucial portfolios which requires a juggling act involving the demands of government, the demands of the public and those of industry, all while Alberta's oil industry is under the microscope.

Mr. Hughes is the former chair of the province's health board, a one-term Progressive Conservative MP and a Harvard-educated insurance entrepreneur. His appointment serves as a signal of Premier Redford's intention boost the public profile and improve the public image of Alberta's energy sector.

Boosting the public profile of Alberta's energy sector starts with addressing environmental issues according to Mr. Hughes. He told the Globe and Mail that Alberta must prove to people beyond its borders that "we are conducting ourselves appropriately so that we have a social license to continue to develop our resources."

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