• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing January 23, 2023
Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’ January 23, 2023
Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom January 23, 2023
IRON OXIDE: New Battery Brings Long-Duration Storage to Grids, 750 Jobs to West Virginia January 23, 2023
BREAKING: GFANZ Banks, Investors Pour Hundreds of Billions into Fossil Fuels January 17, 2023
Next
Prev

Alberta Grants Third Deadline Extension to Struggling ‘Foreign-Funded Radicals’ Panel

February 1, 2021
Reading time: 4 minutes
Full Story: The Canadian Press @CdnPressNews with files from The Energy Mix
Primary Author: Lauren Krugel @LaurenKrugel

/Pixy

/Pixy

 

The Alberta government has given an inquiry into the funding of oil and gas industry critics a third deadline extension to complete its report. 

The inquiry headed by Steve Allen was to have completed the report by Sunday. 

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
New!
Subscribe

Late last Friday, the United Conservative government released an order-in-council amending the inquiry’s deadline to May 31, The Canadian Press reports. 

“Cabinet has granted the commissioner’s request for an extension to ensure he is able to complete a comprehensive investigation into a possible well-funded foreign campaign aimed at discrediting the province’s energy sector,” Peter Brodsky, press secretary for Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage, wrote in an email.

“Cabinet allowed the extension to ensure that potential participants have a fair opportunity to provide input.” 

Brodsky said no additional funds will be provided to complete the inquiry. 

Premier Jason Kenney and his government contend that foreign interests have long been bankrolling campaigns against Canadian fossil fuel development. But the province had previously dialled back expectations for the panel’s results, one of its most venerable charitable foundations had found its claims “undemocratic” and “unfounded”, and extensive research from within the Alberta oilpatch has already debunked the wild assumptions on which the inquiry was based.

Allan, a forensic accountant, was tapped in 2019 to lead the public inquiry with an initial budget of $2.5 million and a July 2020 deadline. 

Last summer, Allan was given a four-month extension and a $1-million budget increase. 

In October, the inquiry got another 90-day extension, but no new money. 

Savage must publish the final report within 90 days of receiving it. 

Earlier Friday, the Opposition NDP called on the government to immediately release the results of the “overdue, over-budget, scandal-tainted, not-so-public inquiry” once it’s received. 

“Albertans have waited long enough to hear back from this kangaroo court,” energy critic Kathleen Ganley said in a statement. 

She noted that thousands of energy sector workers are without a job, projects have been cancelled, investment has fled, and new U.S. President Joe Biden has cancelled the Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline expansion. 

Environmental law group Ecojustice filed a lawsuit in November 2019 that alleged the inquiry was politically motivated, biased, and outside provincial jurisdiction. Late last year, Ecojustice lost a court bid to have Allan’s work paused until there was a ruling in the lawsuit. 

Eleven groups and individuals were granted standing to be a “participant for commentary” before the inquiry, but their identities are not being disclosed. 

Participants were provided reading material, including links to reports commissioned by the inquiry that contained passages denying or downplaying the broad scientific consensus around human-caused climate change. Those materials no longer appear to be on the website. 

One commissioned report, by University of Calgary political scientist Barry Cooper, argued that philanthropic foundations have been captured by ideological environmental activists. It mentioned “growing scientific skepticism regarding the so-called consensus view regarding anthropogenic climate change” and “apocalyptic” and “alarmist” “rhetoric” around the issue. 

Another report the inquiry requested from T.L. Nemeth contended there was a “transnational global movement” afoot to replace the current capitalist world order with “a new global low-carbon, net-zero civilization.” In it, the author suggested climate change is not due to human activity, but natural phenomena, and that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, but “a gas essential to all life on Earth.” 

The inquiry said on its website that the reports were meant to “obtain perspectives” from participants and didn’t represent any findings or positions it has taken. Allan does not consider the science of climate change to be part of the inquiry’s mandate, the website originally said. 

Those comments were part of the same section that appears to have been taken down. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 29, 2021.



in Canada, Climate & Society, Energy Politics, Fossil Fuels, Jurisdictions, Media, Messaging, & Public Opinion, Oil & Gas, Pipelines / Rail Transport, Sub-National Governments, Tar Sands / Oil Sands

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

United Nations
Air & Marine

Salvage of $20B ‘Floating Time Bomb’ Delayed by Rising Cost of Oil Tankers

January 27, 2023
4
RL0919/wikimedia commons
Finance & Investment

Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing

January 23, 2023
2.1k
@tongbingxue/Twitter
Ending Emissions

Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’

January 23, 2023
262

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

RL0919/wikimedia commons

Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing

January 23, 2023
2.1k
@tongbingxue/Twitter

Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’

January 23, 2023
262
Rachel Notley/Facebook

Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom

January 23, 2023
248
James Vincent Wardhaugh/flickr

Canada Sidelines Ontario’s Ring of Fire, Approves Separate Mining Project

December 4, 2022
374
Weirton, WV by Jon Dawson/flickr

IRON OXIDE: New Battery Brings Long-Duration Storage to Grids, 750 Jobs to West Virginia

January 23, 2023
492
TALL ORDER -- A field of “Freedom” giant miscanthus on Mississippi State University’s South Farm towers over research agronomist Brian Baldwin. Baldwin’s 12-year study of grassy feedstocks indicates the plant is a viable resource for biofuel production. (Photo by MSU Ag Communications/Scott Corey)

Bamboo-like Crop Could Cut U.S. Midwest Warming by 1°C

May 4, 2022
957

Recent Posts

United Nations

Salvage of $20B ‘Floating Time Bomb’ Delayed by Rising Cost of Oil Tankers

January 27, 2023
4
EcoAnalytics

Albertans Want a Just Transition, Despite Premier’s Grumbling

January 23, 2023
185
Sergio Boscaino/flickr

Dubai Mulls Quitting C40 Cities Over ‘Costly’ Climate Target

January 24, 2023
84
hangela/pixabay

New UK Coal Mine Faces Two Legal Challenges

January 24, 2023
43

Gas Stoves Enter U.S. Climate Culture War, Become ‘Bellwether’ for Industry

January 22, 2023
72
Jeff Hitchcock/flickr.

BREAKING: GFANZ Banks, Investors Pour Hundreds of Billions into Fossil Fuels

January 23, 2023
493
Next Post
Flickr

Missing Federal Permit, Cancelled Insurance Bond Mean Mounting Legal Woes for Dakota Access Pipeline

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}