Report on ‘anti-Alberta’ efforts targeting oil and gas sector shows foreign-funded campaign, province argues

EDMONTON – The Alberta government says the final report of a multi-year public inquiry shows clear evidence that groups opposing the province’s oil sands have received large amounts of funding from U.S. philanthropic organizations in recent years. .

However, the head of the investigation, whose report was released publicly for the first time on Thursday, says he cannot say with certainty how much of that money has been used to undermine Alberta’s energy sector, and that he has not found “ no suggestion of wrongdoing. “

In 2019, with much fanfare, the government of Prime Minister Jason Kenney launched an investigation into allegations that activists were being backed by foreign actors to attack Alberta’s oil and gas sector.

The province has already published the investigation report.

The head of the investigation, forensic accountant Steve Allan, says his final recommendations do not focus on “seeking retaliation, blaming or seeking damages from anyone.”

“To be very clear, I have not found any suggestion of wrongdoing by any individual or organization,” Allan wrote. “No individual or organization, in my opinion, has done anything illegal. In fact, they have exercised their right to freedom of expression ”.

About $ 15 billion of foreign funds flowed to registered Canadian charities between 2010 and 2018, according to the research. About $ 925 million in foreign funding for Canadian charities was used for “environmental initiatives” between 2003 and 2019, according to the report. Another $ 352 million in foreign funding for “Canadian-based environmental initiatives” remained in the United States during that time period, the report noted.

Based on “word search criteria,” the report found that some $ 54.1 million was specifically scheduled for “anti-Alberta resource development activities,” but Allan noted that it was difficult to come up with an exact number.

The findings said the large amounts of foreign funds flowing into Canada have the “potential to influence matters of public concern to the people of Alberta and Canada.”

According to a “key findings” document provided to reporters by the provincial government, the final report establishes “the existence of well-funded foreign interests that have been waging a disinformation campaign for a decade with the aim of blocking oil and gas. from Alberta. “

However, as Allan notes in his final report, there has been “much discussion” about the investigative mandate “related to ‘the dissemination of misleading and false information’”.

“In September 2019, I ruled in my interpretation of the terms of reference that determining the existence of misleading and false information could have significant reputational consequences and is an enormous task that the commission cannot undertake given the resources available.” Allan wrote.

Documents released Thursday included Allan’s final report, totaling more than 600 pages, a summary of key findings from the provincial government, and a report from Deloitte Forensic Inc.

Deloitte’s analysis covered about 200,000 documents and 200 organizations. It found that the US philanthropic community “provides significant funding to Canadian charities, NGDOs, Envirolegals, and conservative / market-oriented organizations.”

In 2018 alone, Deloitte found that Canadian charities, which receive a large portion of their funding from various levels of government, received about $ 2.5 billion from foreign sources in 2018. In 2010, it was just $ 812 million, according to the documents released Thursday.

Allan documented environmental campaigns, their strategies and the media connected to them. After reviewing the Deloitte report, he found that “foreign funding for Canadian charities in general is significant and growing.”

However, “ultimately, I was unable to accurately track the amount of foreign funds applied to the energy campaigns against Alberta,” Allan said, adding that it is too difficult to track the money after an organization receives it and uses it for “varied and complex” Missions.

Alberta’s energy industry has been targeted by organizations proclaiming themselves victorious when projects failed, but the sector has also faced “difficult economic circumstances,” Allan wrote.

“While the energy campaigns against Alberta may have played a role in canceling some oil and gas developments, I am not in a position to find that these campaigns alone caused project delays or cancellations,” he said.

The report was originally billed as a $ 2.5 million effort, but after deadline extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and legal challenges, its cost is approaching $ 3.5 million.

More to come …