A long-anticipated report into anti-Alberta energy campaigns says hundreds of millions of foreign dollars were used to block the province’s oil and gas development..In a government release, the UCP said the Allan inquiry and report details how the campaigns operate like a business to attract foreign funding in pursuit of their agendas..“The goal of these groups was to landlock Alberta’s oil and gas sector, with a specific focus on stopping all oil sands development,” said the release..“I thank Commissioner Steve Allan for the due diligence and excellent work that went into his comprehensive report. Albertans should be outraged at the foreign-funded campaigns that targeted our oil and gas sector in an attempt to block development. Alberta’s natural resources belong to Albertans, and decisions about their development should be made by Albertans,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage..The report said between 2003 and 2019, total foreign funding of Canadian-based environmental initiatives was $1.28 billion, a figure Allan said is likely significantly understated..“No individual or organization, in my view, has done anything illegal. Indeed, they have exercised their rights of free speech,” the 657-page report said..Allan also found proponents for these campaigns celebrated, cancelled, and vetoed projects and have taken credit for more than 1,000 divestments made by finance and insurance companies representing $8 trillion of investments. This includes seven campaigns specifically targeting divestment in the oil sands, including the SumOfUs campaign that targeted the Trans Mountain Pipeline, Keystone XL and the Teck Frontier Mine..The government said another main finding was that these environmental groups operate with limited transparency and accountability compared with regulated public companies..“While industry is highly regulated, closely monitored and must be open and transparent with respect to their financial reporting requirements, many of the same requirements do not exist for not-for-profits or charities,” said the release..“We need to take the report’s findings, learn from the tactics employed and ensure that foreign funding does not target the development of the emerging energy resources, including hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage, critical and rare earth minerals, small modular reactors and LNG, which are needed to reduce emissions and diversify Alberta’s economy,” said Savage..“They need to be able to grow and compete in a world that is moving towards lowering carbon emissions. These campaigns will likely set their sights on these emerging areas in the energy sector. It is money looking for a cause. This government will not allow this critical sector of our economy and jobs to be influenced by foreign-funded campaigns.”.For its part, the energy industry reacted with I-told-you-so relief..“The public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns brings to light the highly coordinated, well-funded and international nature of these campaigns which have played a part in cancelling billions of dollars in resource projects and thousands of jobs for Albertans,” said Tim McMillan, president and CEO of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)..“For years, the energy conversation has been driven by activist organizations who have influenced energy policies that are today contributing to rising energy costs for Canadians, as well as energy shortages for our trading partners around the world. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers hopes the findings of the report will help bring greater transparency and a more positive approach to the Canadian conversation about our oil and natural gas industry and the role it can play to help meet growing global demand.”.The UCP said the planned introduction of a bill during the fall legislative session would ban foreign money by allowing only Albertans to make contributions to election advertising and only Canadians to contribute to political advertising..The inquiry was originally commissioned in July 2019 and cost $3.5 million — $1 million over its original budget.
