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Alberta’s environment minister told an oil and gas conference Monday that she hopes the government’s broad-based carbon tax won’t have to be collected forever.

Shannon Phillips used an 18-minute speech to the Conference Board of Canada’s oil and gas summit to reassure industry officials that the provincial government is aware of the challenges being faced by the energy sector as a result of nosediving oil prices.

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“We acknowledge as a government the pain of low oil prices and the effects it has had on Calgary and all communities that are dependent on resource extraction in this province,” said Phillips.

“As a government we have a choice in how we respond. We don’t control the price of oil. What we do control is how we treat one another. We also choose a different, more hopeful path than might be offered by others.”

Phillips outlined for the crowd the Alberta government’s climate change plan announced last fall, saying the move was necessary due to a worldwide desire to deal with global warming.

The carbon tax is one of the pillars of Alberta’s new climate change strategy. The plan will cap oilsands emissions, phase out coal-fired electricity plants, and move to more environment-friendly fuel sources over the next 15 years.