Front Burner - 'Anti-Alberta' investigation mired in controversy

Episode Date: February 3, 2021

In the summer of 2019, newly elected Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he was determined to blow the lid off of what he called a "shadowy," foreign-funded campaign to crush Alberta's oil and gas industry. He mentioned Russia, OPEC and the Rockefeller Foundation as possibly playing a role. And he announced an inquiry to get to the bottom of it. But three delays and $3.5 million later, evidence of a shady international campaign has yet to materialize. And the still-ongoing inquiry has been mired in allegations of cronyism, climate denialism and conspiracy theories. Jennie Russell and Charles Rusnell — investigative reporters with CBC Edmonton — join us to explain how the inquiry into "anti-Alberta energy campaigns" started and how it's going.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Jamie Poisson. In the summer of 2019, Jason Kenney was determined to throw open the curtain. Alberta oil was in trouble, still is, and Premier Kenney suspected that he knew who was partly to blame. For more than a decade, Alberta has been the target of a well-funded political propaganda campaign to defame our energy industry and to landlock our resources. He suspected that a collection of groups, people, organizations,

were pulling the levers that were helping to choke off Alberta's oil supply. He mentioned possible interference from Russia, OPEC, the Rockefeller Foundation. And Kenny wanted to get to the bottom of it, so he announced an inquiry. One that he promised would finally tell us whether shadowy foreign interests had it out for Alberta energy. And we want to know why, who, and how much. And we want to know why, who, and how much. Well, a year and a half, three delays, and $3.5 million later, there's been no solid evidence of any of that.

Instead, the inquiry is accused of cronyism, climate denialism, and promoting conspiracy theories. Today, we're talking to CBC Edmonton investigative reporters Jenny Russell and Charles Rusnow about how the anti-Alberta energy inquiry started and how it's going. Hello to you both. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Thank you. So the deadline for the final report from this inquiry was just extended again until the end of May. But I know that we do have some indication here of what might be in it from these studies the inquiry posted on its website last month. And I want to go through a bit of what's in these studies because some of it is quite eye-popping.

And let's start with this report by a woman named Tammy Nemeth. She was paid almost $28,000 by the Alberta government for her work. And Jenny, can you tell me who Tammy Nemeth is and what the thrust of her report is? Well, she's a historian. She has a PhD in history. But as far as we can tell, her full-time job is homeschooling her children. And all of the commissioned reports that were posted online last month provoked, you know, a great deal of criticism. But this one, most of all, it's created national, even international headlines.

Essentially, Nemeth claimed that a transnational progressive movement is attempting to overthrow the modern Western industrial capitalist society. And she names financier George Soros, billionaires Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg as being part of this international conspiracy that she claims is infiltrating institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank, as well as, you know, universities and corporations. And she also claims that environmental reporters are part of the conspiracy. She says that they're hyping teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg and spreading propaganda about climate change. So a bunch of controversial claims and statements in there that critics say, you know, are easily debunked and just wrong. Right, right. And you know, she talks quite a bit in this report of the Great Transformation. I just want to read this one quote from the report,

life after the Great Transformation will be constantly monitored, short, cold and miserable, will be constantly monitored, short, cold, and miserable, just like pre-industrial times. This felt very reminiscent of the Great Reset conspiracy theory to me, which of course claims a group of world leaders orchestrated the pandemic to take control of the global economy. There's a lot of parallels going on here. Charles, there is another study that the inquiry commissioned. It is by University of Calgary political science professor Barry Cooper. And it has also received a lot of criticism here. And why? Can you tell me about this study? Well, the study that he produced, he talks a lot about Marxism. And he essentially says that people who oppose the energy industry are Marxists or socialists. Now, Cooper is a

University of Calgary professor of political science. I think it's safe to say he's a controversial figure in Alberta and nationally. All the talk about greenhouse gas reduction has nothing to do with greenhouse gas reduction. CO2 is one factor, probably a pretty small factor in any kind of climate change. It's also not clear which way the climate is changing. He's been called a global warming denier. And in Cooper's report for Allen, he referred to the growing scientific skepticism regarding what he said was the so-called consensus view that climate change is caused by humans. But of course, the scientific consensus

on the cause of climate change has been growing for many years. And at this point, it's clearly not in doubt. Right. So we've got these two reports, one written by a homeschool teacher, the other by this controversial Calgary political science professor. And Jenny, I know that you mentioned before about criticisms. And can you tell me a little bit more about the criticisms that you've heard? What have people been telling you about these reports? Yeah, so on the day that we reported on the these reports that the inquiry commissioned, we spoke to Martin Olczynski, and he's an associate professor of energy law at the University of Calgary. He has a really

unique perspective on the inquiry because he applied for and actually got standing in it as an expert. He's been a sharp critic of how the inquiry has been conducted, and he was allowed to review the reports that were commissioned months before they were publicly released. He says that he was essentially dumbfounded when he read them. His assessment of them, which he posted online, was scathing. He said that these are textbook climate change denialism, that they're full of speculation, generalizations, even conspiracy. And we also interviewed Andrew Leach, who's an energy economist at the University of Alberta.

He also chaired the former NDP government's climate change panel. Leach made a really interesting point, which is that he essentially said it's ironic that these reports were commissioned by Allen and the inquiry, which is all about fighting back against alleged attempts to discredit the energy industry because the bizarre theories and claims that are in them actually do just that. They discredit the province because they're so laughable and they're so easily debunked. It's almost comedic. It's older conspiracy theories and climate change denial and exactly the types of things that Premier Kenney has gone around the world trying to say that's not what Alberta stands for. Alberta stands for an industry that can compete in a climate constrained world. And now you're going out and spending tens of thousands of dollars on reports that question even the basic consensus of climate science. And Charles, you know, Jenny mentioned journalists have been named in these

reports. I know environmental groups have been named, have been called out as well. And how have they responded to these reports being released? and they've said that the amount of money that comes from outside Canada is a small, small percentage of their overall budgets. And in their minds, these reports only serve to further confirm their belief that they are the targets of a government-funded inquisition. None of them have been interviewed by Mr. Allen at this point, and in fact, Greenpeace says Allen simply hasn't responded to their invitation to talk to them. Right, and you talk about Mr. Allen.

This is the man who is heading the inquiry, Steve Allen, right? Correct, which Greenpeace has said has issued a legal warning to the inquiry. You know, they commissioned research that mentions our organization 87 times, never spoke to us. It has misleading information about us in those reports that they've been sharing with the public. How do you do a public inquiry without talking to the people you're accusing of doing things?

And of course, another main target of the inquiry, Ecojustice, has gone further. They're taking the government to court. They'll be in court next week, actually, and they're going to seek to have the inquiry quashed based on their contention that it's a politically motivated attack. It's outside provincial jurisdiction. It may well be that these reports are just consistent with the purpose of the inquiry. Devin Page with Ecojustice says the purpose of the inquiry is quite clear. This isn't a fact-finding mission.

This is an initiative to silence debate and to silence people that would oppose the scope and pace of oil and gas development, or at least want to talk about it. And, you know, they say, as others have, that it hasn't followed even the most basic rules of fairness required of a public inquiry. In fact, it hasn't been conducted like any public inquiry that experts say they've ever seen. Has Kenny or anyone in his UCP government responded to what's in these reports? No, they've been careful to stay away from commenting. They say, you know, we can't comment on a public inquiry, and we wouldn't.

It would be improper to do that. Right. Jenny, I cannot help think of this meme from a few months ago, you know, the how it started, how it's going meme. And I know we just, we just talked about a bit about how it's going. Like we've got, you know, threats of legal action, accusations of climate denialism, conspiracy theories, a ballooning budget, multiple delays. There are some real issues here. But I want to go back and talk about how it actually started. And I'm wondering if you could take me back to July 2019, when Jason Kenney first announced this inquiry. I remember this was soon after he

announced this war room, which was supposed to fight lies about Alberta's energy industry. To move Alberta from being a passive, responsive, and kind of defensive posture to a proactive and assertive strategy. What did he say the purpose of this inquiry was at the time? What did he say it was going to do? Well, he said it was essentially going to investigate and kind of lay bare these foreign-funded special interests, so essentially naming and shaming them and their campaigns to stop development in the oil sands.

It will serve notice that Alberta will no longer allow hostile interest groups to dictate our economic destiny as one of the most ethical major producers of energy in the world. So it had very lofty stated goals from the start. At the news conference where he announced it, Kenney spoke vaguely about, you know, allegations of Russian involvement in landlocking Alberta oil, the funding of environmental groups by the Rockefeller and Tides foundations. All of those groups who participated in the original planning session to develop the Tar Sands campaign, hosted by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at their New York City offices in 2008.

It provided money and logistical support for legal challenges, protests, and lobbying by interest groups and even Hollywood celebrities. But it missed several deadlines. It was initially had a $2.5 million budget. It had an extra $1 million added to it. So we're now at $3.5 million. And the government several times has very quietly amended the scope and scale of this with the effect of ultimately limiting what Allen's report is expected to yield. So, you know, they've inserted equivocating language that suggests that these foreign funded anti-Alberta energy campaigns may not have actually happened. Allen said last September that he doesn't have the time or the resources to prove

whether criticism of Alberta's energy industry is misleading or false. He doesn't have the time or the resources to prove whether criticism of Alberta's energy industry is misleading or false. He doesn't have the time to do that fact checking, which he called a colossal undertaking. And critics, you know, very understandably said, well, isn't that the purpose of the inquiry? And, you know, now with the release last month of these controversial reports commissioned by Allen, lots of people have said that this has basically descended into farce. So if people are saying that this is a farce, you know, is it fair to say that people now don't really know what the purpose of this inquiry is anymore? Yeah, I think that's fair. You know, this, it's been watered down so much, it's been changed and contorted its mandate, that I think a lot of

people don't really know what to expect. And I believe that this is kind of confirming a lot of people's beliefs from the beginning that this is, you know, an effort to intimidate critics, and to basically a PR exercise by the government, promoting the energy industry that really won't do what they said it was going to do from the beginning. If I could just jump in with one point is that the environmental groups, most specifically Greenpeace, have believed or have said that they think that Alan included these reports, which they call bizarre, because he can't find anything. He doesn't have a smoking gun. This is an inquiry which is struck for political purposes.

It has had to change its mandate several times because, you know, originally it was going to be about the lies and misrepresentations. They changed the mandate to no longer look to see if there were any false statements or misrepresentations because basically they couldn't find any. So there is speculation on the part of environmental groups and others that Mr. Allen included these reports just so there's something that can be used or can come out of this for the $3.5 million that they're spending on this. I know that this inquiry has also hit some other pretty significant controversies as well, sort of related to Mr. Allen and his leadership. In November 2019, just a few months after the inquiry started, I know that you both uncovered this potential conflict of interest that I just wanted to touch on here as well, involving a large contract that Commissioner Steve Allen awarded to a Calgary law firm. And Charles, can you tell me a little bit about that? Sure. I mean, Allen gave a sole source $905,000 contract to Denton's, which is a large Calgary law firm.

But it's also where Allen's son was a partner. It's also Allen was chosen to head the inquiry by then Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, who was, before he entered politics, a partner at Denton's. Schweitzer, who was, before he entered politics, a partner at Denton's. So, you know, Allen said he chose Denton's because he had a long, successful history of working with them. And, you know, he thought that they would provide good services to the inquiry. But of course, there was an immediate outcry about cronyism and, you know, giving a large sum of money to a firm for which he has a close association. Okay, and Charles just mentioned the man who appointed Steve Allen to head this inquiry, Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer. Mr. Allen is respected, impartial, and has experience looking at root causes and bringing them to light.

I know Mr. Allen will fulfill his role admirably and will serve as an impartial and effective commissioner. And Jenny, I know you two later uncovered a political relationship between these two men, as well as some other questionable dealings. And what did you find out? Yeah, so we did a series of stories after that $905,000 contract. we discovered that Alan had actually donated a thousand dollars to one of Schweitzer's election campaigns. He had co-hosted a fundraiser at a golf club for Schweitzer. He had also campaigned for him. At one point, he hosted a political meet and greet at his home for Schweitzer. We also found out that Alan actually used to have an office at Denton's, and it's been reported by other media that he still uses a Denton's email that identifies him as a consultant at that firm. There's more. Alan actually hired the accounting firm Deloitte in Calgary, and we reported that his former business partner, Bob Taylor, is a senior partner at that firm. Taylor is a senior partner at that firm. Sandy Garasino of the National Observer recently revealed that Allen hired Taylor to act as the forensic accountant for the inquiry. So, you know, people

say the inquiry isn't going very well, but Mr. Allen's former business associates seem to have done all right. Okay. And I guess we should note here that Alberta's ethics commissioner ended up ruling that Minister Schweitzer didn't breach the province's Conflict of Interest Act here, right? Yeah, and the opposition NDP also sought to have an ethics investigation. One of the things that the ethics commissioner said is that she doesn't actually have jurisdiction over decisions made by Alan because he's not an officeholder under the Act. A simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections.

Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income? That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together.

To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Cups. You know, Jenny, I want to pick up on something that you mentioned a little bit earlier. That, you know, when the Alberta government first started these initiatives, the inquiry and then the adjacent war room, that the ultimate goal was to improve the public image of Alberta's energy industry, ultimately to help get more of Alberta's oil and gas to market. And how much evidence is there that that is actually working, that the strategy has been working? I don't think that there's any evidence. I think a lot of people would agree with me. And in fact, to the contrary, that this is actually embarrassing the province. And actually,

this inquiry into attempts, alleged attempts to discredit the province are actually doing just that itself. It feels like Kenny and his government have essentially painted themselves into a corner with the war room and the inquiry. And now they're just, you know, kind of trying to find a way out that this report will be quietly released without taking any more political flack in Alberta, in Canada nationally, and even in the US. And it has been getting flack. USA Today had a headline recently from Climate Point, which is its weekly update on the environment. And it was called Biden takes aim at fossil fuels while Alberta, Canada takes aim at journalists, you know, and it referenced a story by Jeff Dembicki and Vice about how Tammy

Nemeth in that report we talked about earlier, suggested that journalists who cover the environment are also part of the worldwide conspiracy. And so Alberta is definitely making headlines on this, but it's for all the wrong reasons. Charles, anything to add there? Well, it depends on what you think the real purpose of the inquiry is and what the war room is. And many political pundits in Alberta think that, you know, Kenny had used the whole fight back strategy to first fire up the party's political base during the election. And it did that. And now, you know, it's more about keeping, you know, his political base on side, because polling shows support for the party and Kenny's own personal popularity has plummeted. party and and kenny's own personal popularity has plummeted and you know at this point every time there's another scandal involving the inquiry your critic says well there there goes the last bit of credibility the inquiry had and then there's another negative revelation you know as

we saw this week with the work the story by by sandyisino. And at this point, you know, environmental groups, the opposition, editorial writers, and many in the public are calling for the Kenney government to just put the inquiry out of its misery and quit embarrassing the province. Jenny, Charles, thank you so much for this conversation. We really appreciate it. You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome. All right, so some vaccine news before we leave you today.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Trudeau announced a plan to produce millions of vaccines here in Canada at a plant in Montreal. It will produce a vaccine from the U.S.-based Novavax, which submitted its vaccine to Health Canada for regulatory approval last Friday. The deal will do little to meet short-term demands, though. The first Canadian-made Novavax vials won't be produced until the end of the year, which is well past when the Prime Minister has promised every Canadian who wanted a vaccine would be able to access one. Thanks so much for listening to FrontBurner, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.