AB Today – Daily Report January 7, 2020

Quotation of the day

“It would be funny if it wasn’t costing Albertans $82,000 a day.”

NDP Energy critic Irfan Sabir ridicules the energy war room after its series of gaffes. ​ ​

Today in AB

Premier watch Premier is scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in ​ ​ ​ ​ on Tuesday. The two previously met in the nation’s capital in November, following the 2019 federal election, with each saying they intend to seek “common ground” on -Ottawa relations.

At the legislature The legislature building will be closed for maintenance on January 11.

NDP calls on UCP to scrap contentious energy war room NDP Energy critic Irfan Sabir called on the government to disband its $30-million energy war ​ ​ room, following a series of gaffes he says undermines its credibility.

Since the war room formally launched as the Canadian Energy Centre in December, it has been criticized for one plagiarized logo, another potentially plagiarized logo, its employees identifying as reporters and the performance of its content on social media.

“The so-called Canadian Energy Centre spends $82,000 of Alberta taxpayers’ money every single day, but hasn’t created anything but ridicule,” Sabir told reporters at a news conference on Monday. “It’s done nothing to advance the cause of Alberta’s energy sector and has only, if anything, created a new platform for opponents of our oil and gas industry.”

Kavi Bal, press secretary to Energy Minister , defended the CEC’s ongoing ​ ​ ​ work. “The full development of an organization of this nature takes time,” he told AB Today in an ​ ​ emailed statement that also took jabs at the NDP’s record on the energy file.

“They sat on their hands while foreign funded special interests attacked Alberta’s reputation — even appointing the likes of Tzeporah Berman to co-chair their Oil Sands Advisory Group,” Bal ​ ​ said. “This government was elected to defend the interests of Alberta and its energy sector. The Canadian Energy Centre will continue to work to fulfill that commitment.”

Sabir said he doesn’t have a problem with government standing up for the energy industry, but he criticized the CEC for its secrecy and for lacking metrics of success.

The war room has also attempted to intimidate critics, Sabir alleged, pointing to activist Steven ​ Lee, founder of the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship, who says he was contacted by ​ the CEC ahead of a talk he was scheduled to give at a Calgary high school. Lee said it was “intimidating” that a government-funded body would go after his work.

Writers for the CEC are also facing scrutiny for identifying themselves as reporters and not disclosing the organization’s purpose when requesting interviews.

For one of the website’s stories, a freelancer interviewed B.C.-based Donald Gyurkovits, ​ ​ ​ ​ president of the Canadian Culinary Federation. Gyurkovits said he felt betrayed when he ​ ​ learned the interview was used for political purposes.

The Canadian Association of Journalists called CEC employees’ use of the term reporter ​ ​ “Orwellian.”

Social media accounts run by the CEC have received considerable online scorn. Videos posted to YouTube were heavily downvoted and have since been deleted.

The CEC’s official account has roughly the same number of followers (4,923) as one ​ ​ parody account @ABWarRoom (4,934). ​ ​

Sabir also called out inconsistencies in the terms of use on the CEC’s website, noting the CEC is mandated to be a “rapid response unit,” but its website claims its online materials may be out of date at any given time. The terms of use also say the CEC does not stand behind the “accuracy, completeness or usefulness” of the information it provides. “Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk,” the site ads.

“That’s a lot of failure to pack into three weeks,” Sabir said.

The CEC did not respond to a request for comment.

Upcoming events

January 7 at 11:55 a.m. – Calgary ​ ​ ​ Premier Jason Kenney and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet at the ​ ​ ​ ​ McDougall Centre.

Topics of conversation

● RBC Economics released a report, Navigating the 2020s, that predicts the upcoming ​ ​ ​ ​ decade will be “greener, greyer, smarter, slower.” ○ The report prognosticates that Canada will become an exporter of clean technologies to further reduce emissions — a prediction that coincides with the UCP’s goal of using TIER funds to bolster new green research and innovation that can be commercialized and exported. ○ “As climate concerns mount, Canada’s challenge will be to better sell ourselves as a responsible, cleaner energy producer,” the report says. “We already compare favourably to other oil-producing countries in Environmental, Social and Governance rankings.” ○ The report notes the top two costliest natural disasters in Canadian history happened in Alberta within the past five years: the Fort McMurray wildfire in 2016 and southern Alberta flooding of 2013 combined cost more than $5.5 billion in insurance claims.

● Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big ​ ​ City Mayors’ Caucus, met with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland Monday for the ​ ​ second time since her re-election in November. ○ The two leaders chatted about housing, infrastructure issues and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

● Well drilling activity in Alberta was down 22.9 per cent year over year in October 2019 ​ ​ compared to the same period in 2018. There were 408 active exploratory or development wells drilled in 2019 compared to 529 in 2018.

● At least 50 government agricultural researchers lost their jobs before Christmas, with more potential cuts in the future, according to the Alberta Farm Express. ​ ​ ​ ○ The government said it is shifting towards farmer-driven research, led by organizations such as the Applied Research and Extension Council of Alberta.

● The Edmonton Journal spoke with First Nations and Métis people who support the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ development of the contentious Teck Frontier oilsands mine. ○ The company has agreements with 14 Indigenous communities near the mining project, which McMurray Métis CEO Bill Loutitt said will increase employment in ​ ​ the area while also developing resources in an environmentally sensitive manner. ○ If approved by federal cabinet, the mine could produce up to 260,000 barrels per day.

Appointments and employments

● Deborah Jaremko was hired as the content editor for the Canadian Energy Centre. ​ ​ ​ Jaremko was previously the oilsands editor at the Daily Oil Bulletin. ​ ​