Harper deploys diplomats to counter U.S. climate change campaign
Post Media
Mike De Souza
“Harper deploys diplomats to counter U.S. climate change
campaign”
Postmedia News
12 July 2012
The Harper government has deployed a network of Canadian diplomats to
lobby Fortune 500 companies in the United States in order to counter a
global warming campaign launched by an environmental advocacy group
targeting the oilsands industry, says a newly-released internal
memorandum from Natural Resources Canada.
“The (diplomatic) posts have offered briefings to targeted companies
to counter misinformation, and in certain cases, to provide background
to likely targets which have yet to be approached by ForestEthics,” said
the memo to Natural Resources Canada Deputy Minister Serge Dupont from
Mark Corey, an assistant deputy minister. “The campaign has not produced
many true converts, but the possibility looms out there, particularly if
further pressure is applied.”
The document didn’t offer examples of “misinformation” from
ForestEthics, a U.S.-based conservation group with Canadian offices that
emerged from British Columbia campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s to
protect old-growth forests. But the memo acknowledged numerous
environmental concerns surrounding oilsands development in Alberta,
including warnings that the industry’s rapidly growing greenhouse gas
emissions could prevent Canada from meeting climate change commitments
pledged by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at international negotiations
on global warming.
“While the oil sands industry has made progress in reducing GHG
emissions intensity, overall emissions are growing and this is
inconsistent with our national GHG reduction commitment,” said one
attachment to the memo that summarized the findings of a 2010 panel of
scientific experts convened by the Royal Society of Canada to assess the
environmental impacts of oilsands development.
Sixteen major companies and one American city have made commitments
to reduce the environmental footprint of transportation fuels in their
operations in the context of the ForestEthics campaign to stop the
growth of oilsands development. Chiquita, Avon, American Eagle
Outfitters and Lush Cosmetics are among the more prominent corporate
names listed on the environmental group’s website.
The federal memo, released to Postmedia News through access to
information legislation, said that Canada’s Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade had “reached out to relevant company
contacts to better gauge their intentions vis-a-vis the ForestEthics
campaign” that targets the environmental and social impacts of
exploiting the tar-like heavy oil found in northern Alberta.
“DFAIT missions have been engaging with Fortune 500 companies to
provide oil sands facts and to counteract the Forest Ethics campaign,”
said the memo.
The memo, dated Jan 20, 2011, was prepared in advance of a conference
call to be held the following day of a joint committee of oil and gas
industry lobbyists and senior officials from the federal and Alberta
governments. The committee has been co-ordinating communications and
outreach material, drafted in part by the oil and gas industry, to lobby
foreign governments on climate change policies that target the oilsands,
previously-released records obtained by Postmedia News have
revealed.
The newly-released memo also highlighted other warnings about impacts
on natural ecosystems, including concerns that the reclamation of land
in the oilsands region was “not keeping pace with land disturbance” and
valid long-term concerns about contaminants affecting water and air
quality in the region.
Alberta’s natural bitumen deposits are believed to hold one of the
largest reserves of oil in the world. But producers require significant
amounts of water and energy to extract the heavy oil through surface
mining or drilling deep underground.
The industry also represents about two per cent of Canada’s economy
and its companies produce significant tax revenues for government, as
well as tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was not
immediately able to answer questions about the costs and expenses
associated with their outreach efforts or the nature of their
conversations and contact with the companies approached in the U.S.
But a spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Rudy Husny,
emailed Postmedia News a statement saying that the government was
“proud” to promote the oilsands and would continue to do so.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an industry lobby
group that is part of the joint committee, said it continues to
participate in regular meetings with federal and provincial
representatives on oilsands issues and that it was not unusual for it to
provide the governments with information based on its knowledge and
expertise.
“Note that oil is Canada’s largest export,” said industry spokesman
Travis Davies, referring to 2010 government statistics that estimated
the value of crude oil exports at about $52 billion in that year, ahead
of passenger car exports of about $38 billion. “As such, Canadian
international trade representatives should engage with groups calling
for a boycott of Canadian crude and with targeted companies both.”
Aaron Sanger, an American lawyer who directs U.S. campaigns for
ForestEthics, confirmed that companies listed on its website have been
approached by Canadian government officials, but that they have
responded consistently with calls for stronger regulation and
enforcement - recommendations that were made also by bureaucrats in
briefing notes prepared for Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver in May
2011.
“The companies are saying, ‘Instead of trying to repress this
problem, you should take positive action to address it by reducing the
environmental and social impacts of producing and refining tarsands,’”
said Sanger, who lives in Bellingham, Washington, the city that has
associated itself with the ForestEthics clean energy campaign.
“Specifically in the United States, we (ForestEthics representatives)
believe that until dramatic changes are made in the way that the
tarsands operate both within Canada and within refineries in the United
States, that the market for tarsands should not expand beyond its
current level.”
Forest Ethics is known for launching advocacy campaigns that target
consumers and the marketplace to discourage them from buying from
companies that the environmental group believes are engaged in practices
that damage ecosystems.
One of their recent campaigns culminated with new Ontario government
legislation protecting northern forests after a major company, Limited
Brands, started moving away from contracts with Canadian companies
pursuing unsustainable forestry practices to produce catalogues for
well-known brands such as Victoria’s Secret.
The Canadian chapter of ForestEthics also considered itself to be a
target of the Harper government’s plan, announced in the last federal
budget, to crack down on environmental charities through a
multimillion-dollar initiative giving the Canada Revenue Agency more
resources and powers to audit organizations believed to be using their
charitable status to engage in political activities.
ForestEthics in Canada split its operations into two different groups
- one focused exclusively on advocacy - as a result of the government’s
budget.
Natural Resources Canada indicated that it consulted the other
federal departments, including Foreign Affairs and the Privy Council
Office, as well as the Alberta government and oil and gas industry
lobbyists, before responding to the access to information request from
Postmedia News. Several sections of the release have been withheld under
various provisions of federal legislation that protects information
considered to be advice to government, matters under consultation, third
party information as well as revelations that could damage Canada’s
international relations.
Davies said the association is advised by the government on access to
information releases, but was not consulted about this memo and would
not have asked for any material to be withheld unless it has competitive
implications for companies.
Diplomats working
to counter U.S. climate change campaign
Postmedia News
12 July 2012
against oilsands
The Harper Conservative government has deployed a
network of Canadian diplomats to lobby lob-by
Fortune 500 companies in the United States in order to
counter a global warming campaign launched by an
environmental environment-al advocacy group
targeting the oilsands industry, says a newly-released
internal memorandum from Natural Resources Canada. Canada
indicates.
“The (diplomatic) posts have offered briefings to targeted companies
to counter misinformation, and in certain cases, to provide
background back-ground to likely targets which have
yet to be approached by ForestEthics,” said the memo to Natural
Resources Canada Deputy Minister Serge
Dupont Du-pont from Mark Corey, an assistant deputy
minister.
“The campaign has not produced many true converts, but the
possibility looms out there, particularly if further pressure is
applied.”
The document didn’t offer examples of “misinformation” from
ForestEthics, a U.S.-based conservation group with Canadian offices that
emerged from British Columbia campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s to
protect old-growth forests. But the memo acknowledged numerous
environmental environ-mental concerns surrounding
oilsands development in Alberta, including warnings that the industry’s
rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions could prevent Canada from
meeting climate change commitments pledged by Prime Minister Stephen
Harper at international negotiations on global warming.
“While the oil sands oilsands industry has made
progress in reducing GHG emissions intensity, overall emissions are
growing and this is inconsistent with our national GHG reduction
commitment,” said one attachment to the memo that summarized the
findings of a 2010 panel of scientific experts convened by the Royal
Society of Canada to assess the environmental impacts of
oilsands oil-sands development.
Sixteen major companies and one American city have made commitments
to reduce the environmental footprint foot- print
of transportation fuels in their operations in the context of the
ForestEthics campaign to stop the growth of oilsands development.
Chiquita, Avon, American Eagle Outfitters and Lush Cosmetics are among
the more
prominent corporate names listed on the
environmental environ-mental group’s website.
The federal memo, released to Postmedia News through access to
information legislation, said that Canada’s Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade had “reached out to relevant company
contacts to better gauge their intentions vis-a-vis the ForestEthics
campaign” that targets the environmental and social impacts of
exploiting the tar-like heavy oil found in northern Alberta.
“DFAIT missions have been engaging with Fortune 500 companies to provide
oil sands facts and to counteract the Forest Ethics campaign,” said the
memo.
The memo, dated Jan Jan. 20, 2011, was prepared
in advance of a conference call to be held the following day of a joint
committee of oil and gas industry lobbyists and senior officials from
the federal and Alberta governments.
The committee has been co-ordinating communications and outreach
material, drafted in part by the oil and gas industry, to lobby foreign
governments on climate change policies that target the
oilsands, oil-sands, previously-released
records re-cords obtained by Postmedia News have
revealed.
The newly-released memo also highlighted other warnings about impacts on
natural ecosystems, including concerns that the reclamation of land in
the oilsands region was “not keeping pace with land disturbance” and
valid long-term concerns about contaminants affecting water and air
quality in the region.
Alberta’s natural bitumen deposits are believed to hold one of the
largest reserves of oil in the world. But producers require significant
amounts of water and energy to extract the heavy oil through surface
mining or drilling deep underground.
The industry also represents about two per cent of Canada’s economy and
its companies produce significant tax revenues for government, as well
as tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was not
immediately able to answer questions about the costs and expenses
associated with their outreach efforts or the nature of their
conversations and contact with the companies approached in the U.S.
But a spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Rudy Husny,
emailed Postmedia News a statement saying that the government was
“proud” to promote the oilsands and would continue to do so.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an industry lobby
group that is part of the joint committee, said it continues to
participate in regular meetings with federal and provincial
representatives on oilsands issues and that it was not unusual for it to
provide pro-vide the governments with
information in-formation based on its
knowledge know-ledge and expertise.
“Note that oil is Canada’s largest export,” said industry spokesman
Travis Davies, referring to 2010 government statistics that estimated
the value of crude oil exports at about $52 billion in that year, ahead
of passenger car exports of about $38 billion. “As such,
Canadian international trade representatives should engage with
groups calling for a boycott of Canadian crude and with targeted
companies both.”
Aaron Sanger, an American lawyer who directs U.S. campaigns for
ForestEthics, confirmed con-firmed that companies
listed on its website have been approached by Canadian government
officials, but that they have responded consistently with calls for
stronger regulation and enforcement - recommendations that were made
also by bureaucrats in briefing notes prepared for Natural Resources
Minister Joe Oliver in May 2011.
“The companies are saying, ‘Instead of trying to repress this
problem, you should take positive action to address it by reducing the
environmental and social impacts of producing and refining tarsands,’”
said Sanger, who lives in Bellingham, Washington, the city that has
associated itself with the ForestEthics clean energy
campaign.
“Specifically in the United States, we (ForestEthics representatives)
believe that until dramatic changes are made in the way that the
tarsands operate both within Canada and within refineries in the United
States, that the market for tarsands should not expand beyond its
current level.”
Forest Ethics is known for launching advocacy campaigns that target
consumers and the marketplace to discourage them from buying from
companies that the environmental group believes are engaged in practices
that damage ecosystems.
One of their recent campaigns culminated with new Ontario government
legislation protecting northern forests after a major company, Limited
Brands, started moving away from contracts with Canadian companies
pursuing unsustainable forestry practices to produce catalogues for
well-known brands such as Victoria’s Secret.
The Canadian chapter of ForestEthics also considered itself to be a
target of the Harper government’s plan, announced in the last federal
budget, to crack down on environmental charities through a
multimillion-dollar initiative giving the Canada Revenue Agency more
resources and powers to audit organizations believed to be using their
charitable status to engage in political activities.
ForestEthics in Canada split its operations into two different groups -
one focused exclusively on advocacy - as a result of the government’s
budget.
Natural Resources Canada indicated that it consulted the other federal
departments, including Foreign Affairs and the Privy Council Office, as
well as the Alberta government and oil and gas industry lobbyists,
before responding to the access to information request from Postmedia
News. Several sections of the release have been withheld under various
provisions of federal legislation that protects information considered
to be advice to government, matters under consultation, third party
information as well as revelations that could damage Canada’s
international relations.
Davies said the association is advised by the government on access to
information releases, but was not consulted about this memo and would
not have asked for any material to be withheld unless it has competitive
implications for companies.
Edmonton Journal
Mike De Souza
“Harper deploys diplomats to counter U.S. climate change
campaign”
Postmedia News
12 July 2012
The Harper government has deployed a network of Canadian diplomats to
lobby Fortune 500 companies in the United States in order to counter a
global warming campaign launched by an environmental advocacy group
targeting the oilsands industry, says a newly-released internal
memorandum from Natural Resources Canada.
“The (diplomatic) posts have offered briefings to targeted companies to
counter misinformation, and in certain cases, to provide background to
likely targets which have yet to be approached by ForestEthics,” said
the memo to Natural Resources Canada Deputy Minister Serge Dupont from
Mark Corey, an assistant deputy minister. “The campaign has not produced
many true converts, but the possibility looms out there, particularly if
further pressure is applied.”
The document didn’t offer examples of “misinformation” from
ForestEthics, a U.S.-based conservation group with Canadian offices that
emerged from British Columbia campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s to
protect old-growth forests. But the memo acknowledged numerous
environmental concerns surrounding oilsands development in Alberta,
including warnings that the industry’s rapidly growing greenhouse gas
emissions could prevent Canada from meeting climate change commitments
pledged by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at international negotiations
on global warming.
“While the oil sands industry has made progress in reducing GHG
emissions intensity, overall emissions are growing and this is
inconsistent with our national GHG reduction commitment,” said one
attachment to the memo that summarized the findings of a 2010 panel of
scientific experts convened by the Royal Society of Canada to assess the
environmental impacts of oilsands development.
Sixteen major companies and one American city have made commitments to
reduce the environmental footprint of transportation fuels in their
operations in the context of the ForestEthics campaign to stop the
growth of oilsands development. Chiquita, Avon, American Eagle
Outfitters and Lush Cosmetics are among the more prominent corporate
names listed on the environmental group’s website.
The federal memo, released to Postmedia News through access to
information legislation, said that Canada’s Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade had “reached out to relevant company
contacts to better gauge their intentions vis-a-vis the ForestEthics
campaign” that targets the environmental and social impacts of
exploiting the tar-like heavy oil found in northern Alberta.
“DFAIT missions have been engaging with Fortune 500 companies to provide
oil sands facts and to counteract the Forest Ethics campaign,” said the
memo.
The memo, dated Jan 20, 2011, was prepared in advance of a conference
call to be held the following day of a joint committee of oil and gas
industry lobbyists and senior officials from the federal and Alberta
governments. The committee has been co-ordinating communications and
outreach material, drafted in part by the oil and gas industry, to lobby
foreign governments on climate change policies that target the oilsands,
previously-released records obtained by Postmedia News have revealed.
The newly-released memo also highlighted other warnings about impacts on
natural ecosystems, including concerns that the reclamation of land in
the oilsands region was “not keeping pace with land disturbance” and
valid long-term concerns about contaminants affecting water and air
quality in the region.
Alberta’s natural bitumen deposits are believed to hold one of the
largest reserves of oil in the world. But producers require significant
amounts of water and energy to extract the heavy oil through surface
mining or drilling deep underground.
The industry also represents about two per cent of Canada’s economy and
its companies produce significant tax revenues for government, as well
as tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was not
immediately able to answer questions about the costs and expenses
associated with their outreach efforts or the nature of their
conversations and contact with the companies approached in the U.S.
But a spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Rudy Husny,
emailed Postmedia News a statement saying that the government was
“proud” to promote the oilsands and would continue to do so.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an industry lobby group
that is part of the joint committee, said it continues to participate in
regular meetings with federal and provincial representatives on oilsands
issues and that it was not unusual for it to provide the governments
with information based on its knowledge and expertise.
“Note that oil is Canada’s largest export,” said industry spokesman
Travis Davies, referring to 2010 government statistics that estimated
the value of crude oil exports at about $52 billion in that year, ahead
of passenger car exports of about $38 billion. “As such, Canadian
international trade representatives should engage with groups calling
for a boycott of Canadian crude and with targeted companies both.”
Aaron Sanger, an American lawyer who directs U.S. campaigns for
ForestEthics, confirmed that companies listed on its website have been
approached by Canadian government officials, but that they have
responded consistently with calls for stronger regulation and
enforcement - recommendations that were made also by bureaucrats in
briefing notes prepared for Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver in May
2011.
“The companies are saying, ‘Instead of trying to repress this
problem, you should take positive action to address it by reducing the
environmental and social impacts of producing and refining
tarsands,’” said Sanger, who lives in Bellingham, Washington,
the city that has associated itself with the ForestEthics clean energy
campaign.
“Specifically in the United States, we (ForestEthics representatives)
believe that until dramatic changes are made in the way that the
tarsands operate both within Canada and within refineries in the United
States, that the market for tarsands should not expand beyond its
current level.”
Forest Ethics is known for launching advocacy campaigns that target
consumers and the marketplace to discourage them from buying from
companies that the environmental group believes are engaged in practices
that damage ecosystems.
One of their recent campaigns culminated with new Ontario government
legislation protecting northern forests after a major company, Limited
Brands, started moving away from contracts with Canadian companies
pursuing unsustainable forestry practices to produce catalogues for
well-known brands such as Victoria’s Secret.
The Canadian chapter of ForestEthics also considered itself to be a
target of the Harper government’s plan, announced in the last federal
budget, to crack down on environmental charities through a
multimillion-dollar initiative giving the Canada Revenue Agency more
resources and powers to audit organizations believed to be using their
charitable status to engage in political activities.
ForestEthics in Canada split its operations into two different groups -
one focused exclusively on advocacy - as a result of the government’s
budget.
Natural Resources Canada indicated that it consulted the other federal
departments, including Foreign Affairs and the Privy Council Office, as
well as the Alberta government and oil and gas industry lobbyists,
before responding to the access to information request from Postmedia
News. Several sections of the release have been withheld under various
provisions of federal legislation that protects information considered
to be advice to government, matters under consultation, third party
information as well as revelations that could damage Canada’s
international relations.
Davies said the association is advised by the government on access to
information releases, but was not consulted about this memo and would
not have asked for any material to be withheld unless it has competitive
implications for companies.
Calgary Herald
Mike De Souza
“Harper deploys diplomats to counter U.S. climate
change group’s anti-oilsands campaign”
Postmedia News
Calgary Herald
12
13
July 2012
D4
The Harper government has deployed a network of Canadian diplomats to
lobby Fortune 500 companies in the United States in order to counter a
global warming campaign launched by an environmental advocacy group
targeting the oilsands industry, says a newly-released internal
memorandum from Natural Resources Canada.
“The (diplomatic) posts have offered briefings to targeted companies
to counter misinformation, and in certain cases, to provide background
to likely targets which have yet to be approached by ForestEthics,” said
the memo to Natural Resources Canada Deputy Minister Serge
Dupont from Mark Corey, an assistant deputy minister. “The campaign has
not produced many true converts, but the possibility looms out there,
particularly if further pressure is applied.”
The document didn’t offer examples of “misinformation” from
ForestEthics, a U.S.-based conservation group with Canadian offices that
emerged from British Columbia campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s to
protect old-growth forests. But the memo acknowledged numerous
environmental concerns surrounding oilsands development in Alberta,
including warnings that the industry’s rapidly growing greenhouse gas
emissions could prevent Canada from meeting climate change commitments
pledged by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at international negotiations
on global warming.
“While the oil sands oilsands industry has made
progress in reducing GHG emissions intensity, overall emissions are
growing and this is inconsistent in-consistent with
our national GHG reduction commitment,” said one attachment to the memo
that summarized the findings of a 2010 panel of scientific experts
convened by the Royal Society of Canada to assess the environmental
impacts of oilsands development.
Sixteen major companies and one American city have made commitments
to reduce the environmental footprint of transportation fuels in their
operations in the context of the ForestEthics campaign to stop the
growth of oilsands development. Chiquita, Avon, American Eagle
Outfitters and Lush Cosmetics are among the more prominent corporate
names listed on the environmental group’s website.
The federal memo, released to Postmedia News through access to
information legislation, said that Canada’s Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade had “reached out to relevant company
contacts to better gauge their intentions vis-a-vis the ForestEthics
campaign” that targets the environmental and social impacts of
exploiting the tar-like heavy oil found in northern Alberta.
“DFAIT missions have been engaging with Fortune 500 companies to provide
oil sands facts and to counteract the Forest Ethics campaign,” said the
memo.
The memo, dated Jan Jan. 20, 2011, was prepared
in advance of a conference call to be held the following day of a joint
committee of oil and gas industry lobbyists and senior officials from
the federal and Alberta governments.
The committee has been co-ordinating communications and outreach
material, drafted in part by the oil and gas industry, to lobby foreign
governments on climate change policies that target the
oilsands, oil-sands, previously-released records
obtained by Postmedia News have revealed.
The newly-released memo also highlighted other warnings about impacts on
natural ecosystems, including concerns that the reclamation of land in
the oilsands region was “not keeping pace with land disturbance” and
valid long-term concerns about contaminants affecting water and air
quality in the region.
Alberta’s natural bitumen deposits are believed to hold one of the
largest reserves of oil in the world. But producers require significant
amounts of water and energy to extract the heavy oil through surface
mining or drilling deep underground.
The industry also represents about two per cent of Canada’s economy and
its companies produce significant tax revenues for government, as well
as tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was not
immediately able to answer questions about the costs and expenses
associated with their outreach efforts or the nature of their
conversations and contact with the companies approached in the U.S.
But a spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast, Rudy Husny,
emailed e-mailed Postmedia News a statement saying
that the government was “proud” to promote the oilsands and would
continue to do so.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, an industry lobby
group that is part of the joint
committee, commit-tee, said it continues to
participate in regular meetings with federal and provincial
representatives on oilsands issues and that it was not unusual for it to
provide the governments with information based on its knowledge and
expertise.
“Note that oil is Canada’s largest export,” said industry spokesman
Travis Davies, referring to 2010 government statistics that estimated
the value of crude oil exports at about $52 billion in that year, ahead
of passenger car exports of about $38 billion. “As such, Canadian
international trade representatives should engage with groups calling
for a boycott of Canadian crude and with targeted companies both.”
Aaron Sanger, an American lawyer who directs U.S. campaigns for
ForestEthics, confirmed that companies listed on its website have been
approached by Canadian government officials, but that they have
responded consistently with calls for stronger regulation and
enforcement - recommendations that were made also by bureaucrats in
briefing notes prepared for Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver in May
2011.
“The companies are saying, ‘Instead of trying to repress this
problem, you should take positive action to address it by reducing the
environmental and social impacts of producing and refining
tarsands,’” said Sanger, who lives in Bellingham, Washington,
the city that has associated itself with the ForestEthics clean energy
campaign.
“Specifically in the United States, we (ForestEthics representatives)
believe that until dramatic changes are made in the way that the
tarsands operate both within Canada and within refineries in the United
States, that the market for tarsands should not expand beyond its
current level.”
Forest Ethics is known for launching advocacy campaigns that target
consumers and the marketplace to discourage them from buying from
companies that the environmental group believes are engaged in practices
that damage ecosystems.
One of their recent campaigns culminated with new Ontario government
legislation protecting northern forests after a major company, Limited
Brands, started moving away from contracts with Canadian companies
pursuing unsustainable forestry practices to produce catalogues for
well-known brands such as Victoria’s Secret.
The Canadian chapter of ForestEthics also considered itself to be a
target of the Harper government’s plan, announced in the last federal
budget, to crack down on environmental charities through a
multimillion-dollar initiative giving the Canada Revenue Agency more
resources and powers to audit organizations believed to be using their
charitable status to engage in political activities.
ForestEthics in Canada split its operations into two different groups -
one focused exclusively on advocacy - as a result of the government’s
budget.
Natural Resources Canada indicated that it consulted the other federal
departments, including Foreign Affairs and the Privy Council Office, as
well as the Alberta government and oil and gas industry lobbyists,
before responding to the access to information request from Postmedia
News. Several sections of the release have been withheld under various
provisions of federal legislation that protects information considered
to be advice to government, matters under consultation, third party
information as well as revelations that could damage Canada’s
international relations.
Davies said the association is advised by the government on access to
information releases, but was not consulted about this memo and would
not have asked for any material to be withheld unless it has competitive
implications for companies.
