CBC: There were high hopes when the Alberta government launched the Heritage Savings Trust Fund in 1976 to collect a portion of revenue from the oilpatch to save for future generations.
…During periods of high commodity prices, it was easy to stash away the bounty of oil cash, but in dire years when oil prices crashed, the political commitment to save quickly disappeared.
Since the 1980s until recent years, the fund barely grew. Withdrawals were plentiful, deposits were rare…