Energy minister fends off auditor general's criticism

Alberta Energy MinisterMel Knight lashed out at the auditor generalfor criticizing senior department officials after releasing the province's annual report on Monday.

When Auditor General Fred Dunn released his report, which said the Energy Department may have failed to collect billions of dollars worth of oil and gas royalties since 2002, he told reporters he had had a tough time getting information from department staff.

"I was not impressed with the senior people at the beginning, right from the get-go, because I felt they were giving us the runaround on something that was relatively straightforward and wouldn't take us long," Dunn said Monday.

But Knight said Dunn's criticism crossed the line, suggesting there was bad blood between the auditor general and Energy Department officials.

"I don't believe that any of the staff, and particularly the senior staff in the department, have at any point in time been obstructive,"Knight said.

"It's an unfortunate thing, I think, that the auditor general would come out, outside of his report, and make comments with respect to the integrity of those individuals. I find that a bit distasteful."

However, Knight did say Dunn's report contained valuable information and recommendationsabout oil and gas royalties which he plans to implement.

Dunn's report comes in the wake of another controversial report, released in September, into the amount of money oil and gas companies pay the province for its resources.

It suggested the province was not getting its fair share and should increase royalty rates.