Mike De Souza
“Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver admits he didn’t ‘know very much’ about energy projects”
Postmedia News
31 October 2012
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told government officials - six months after he was on the job - that he did not “know very much” about energy projects and needed briefings so he could talk “knowledgeably” about the subject, internal emails have revealed.
The internal records also reveal he disagreed with the “full thrust” of comments from former environment minister Jim Prentice about cleaning up the oilsands industry.
The release of the documents, obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation, had one opposition critic questioning whether Oliver, a Toronto MP and the lead federal minister on energy issues, was on top of his portfolio.
Oliver’s office said Wednesday the minister gets regular briefings and that the emails “speak for themselves.” It also added that the government was committed to “responsible development of Canada’s resources to create jobs.”
The comments by Oliver last November were made in response to a Calgary Herald column on a speech by Prentice, now the senior executive vice president at CIBC.
In the speech, Prentice, who resigned as environment minister in 2010, highlighted economic opportunities arising from energy projects, including the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines to the Texas gulf coast and the west coast of British Columbia, as well as hydroelectric development projects in Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Jim Prentice’s speech has a lot of facts about energy projects, including the Northwest Upgrader, which I do not know very much about,” Oliver wrote in an email to his department’s deputy minister, Serge Dupont, on Nov. 28, 2011. “It would be useful for me to have someone do a review of the projects he mentions so that I am up to date on developments and can talk knowledgeably about what is going on, who is involved and the implications for regulatory review, jobs and economic growth.”
Prentice had explained that the $15 billion Northwest Upgrader project would help upgrade bitumen - the heavy oil extracted by industry from oilsands deposits - and be critical to fuelling growth while reducing the environmental footprint of industrial activities.
The former minister also said in his speech that energy leadership and environmental leadership were two sides of the same coin, and that Canada needed to become an environmental leader to avoid having other countries “dictate our environmental policies,” in connection with oilsands development.
But Oliver, 72, a lawyer and investment banker from Montreal who was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper following the May 2011 federal election, challenged Prentice’s views in the emails.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the full thrust of Jim Prentice’s comments on the environment but he is right that we have to pay attention to the issue, which is what we are doing,” wrote Oliver in an email to political advisers in his office on Nov. 26, 2011.
Oliver, who earned degrees from McGill University and Harvard’s business school, has publicly described environmentalists over the past year and a half as “extremists” and “radicals” who want to kill Canadian jobs.
But his director of communications highlighted the government’s efforts to protect the environment through measures such as doubling annual audits and increasing inspections of federally regulated pipelines by 50 per cent.
“These are measures that did not exist before, and we’ll continue to do more,” said Oliver’s spokesman Chris McCluskey on Wednesday.
Liberal natural resources critic David McGuinty said there was nothing wrong about a minister saying he or she needs to learn more about complicated files. But he suggested that a natural resources minister should have had a strong grasp of major energy projects in Canada within the first week of being appointed as minister.
He also said the emails suggested that the prime minister is making all decisions on federal environment and energy policies, with little input from his ministers.
“I get the impression that (Oliver) is looking for a bit of a lifeline here,” said McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa riding in Parliament. “Clearly there’s a rift. I think what (Oliver) is saying is that Mr. Prentice’s views are not aligned with the government’s hard line on environmental issues.”
The office at Natural Resources Canada, which processed the request through access to information legislation, said that the content of the emails was released by accident and should have been withheld under provisions of the law that allow the government to protect information under consultation or deliberation.
Postmedia News declined a request from the office to destroy the email records that included Oliver’s comments.
The Access to Information Act requires the government to release public records upon request from someone who pays a $5 fee.
Mike De Souza
“Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver admits
he didn’ minister’s emails raise eyebrows: Didn’t ‘know
very much’ about energy projects projects, Oliver
said”
Postmedia News
Ottawa Citizen
31 October
1 November
2012
A3
Six months after he was in the job,
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told government officials -
six months after he was on the job - that he did not “know very
much” about energy projects and needed briefings so he could talk
“knowledgeably” about the subject, internal emails have revealed.
The internal records also reveal he disagreed with the “full thrust” of comments from former environment minister Jim Prentice about cleaning up the oilsands industry.
The release of the documents, obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation, had one opposition critic questioning whether Oliver, a Toronto MP and the lead federal minister on energy issues, was on top of his portfolio.
Oliver’s office said Wednesday the minister gets regular briefings and that the emails “speak for themselves.” It also added that the government was committed to “responsible development of Canada’s resources to create jobs.”
The comments by Oliver last November were made in response to a
Calgary Herald newspaper column on a speech by
Prentice, now the senior executive vice president at CIBC.
In the speech, Prentice, who resigned as environment minister in 2010, highlighted economic opportunities arising from energy projects, including the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines to the Texas gulf coast and the west coast of British Columbia, as well as hydroelectric development projects in Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Jim Prentice’s speech has a lot of facts about energy projects, including the Northwest Upgrader, which I do not know very much about,” Oliver wrote in an email to his department’s deputy minister, Serge Dupont, on Nov. 28, 2011. “It would be useful for me to have someone do a review of the projects he mentions so that I am up to date on developments and can talk knowledgeably about what is going on, who is involved and the implications for regulatory review, jobs and economic growth.”
Prentice had explained that the $15 $15-billion
Northwest Upgrader Up-grader project would help
upgrade bitumen - the heavy oil extracted by industry from
oilsands oil-sands deposits - and be critical to
fuelling growth while reducing the environmental footprint of industrial
activities.
The former minister also said in his speech that energy leadership and
environmental leadership were two sides of the same coin, and that
Canada needed to become an environmental leader to avoid having other
countries “dictate our environmental policies,” in connection with
oilsands development.
But Oliver, 72, a lawyer and investment banker from Montreal who was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper following the May 2011 federal election, challenged Prentice’s views in the emails.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the full thrust of Jim Prentice’s comments on the environment but he is right that we have to pay attention to the issue, which is what we are doing,” wrote Oliver in an email to political advisers in his office on Nov. 26, 2011.
Oliver, who earned degrees from McGill University and Harvard’s business
school, has publicly described environmentalists over the past year and
a half as “extremists” and “radicals” who want to kill Canadian jobs.
But his director of communications highlighted the government’s efforts
to protect the environment through measures such as doubling annual
audits and increasing inspections of federally regulated pipelines by 50
per cent.
“These are measures that did not exist before, and we’ll continue to do
more,” said Oliver’s spokesman Chris McCluskey on Wednesday.
Liberal natural resources critic David McGuinty said there was nothing
wrong about a minister saying he or she needs to learn more about
complicated files. But he suggested that a natural resources minister
should have had a strong grasp of major energy projects in Canada within
the first week of being appointed as minister.
He also said the emails suggested that the prime minister is making all
decisions on federal environment and energy policies, with little input
from his ministers.
“I get the impression that (Oliver) is looking for a bit of a lifeline
here,” said McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa riding in Parliament.
“Clearly there’s a rift. I think what (Oliver) is saying is that
Mr. Prentice’s views are not aligned with the government’s hard line on
environmental issues.”
The office at Natural Resources Canada, which processed the request
through access to information legislation, said that the content of the
emails was released by accident and should have been withheld under
provisions of the law that allow the government to protect information
under consultation or deliberation.
Postmedia News declined a request from the office to destroy the email
records that included Oliver’s comments.
The Access to Information Act requires the government to release public
records upon request from someone who pays a $5 fee.
Mike De Souza
“Natural Resources Minister
Joe lacked knowledge of energy projects, emails reveal:
Six months into job, Oliver admits he didn’t ‘know very much’
about energy projects asked for briefings”
Postmedia News
Edmonton Journal
31 October
1 November
2012
A10
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told government officials - six months after he was on the job - that he did not “know very much” about energy projects and needed briefings so he could talk “knowledgeably” about the subject, internal emails have revealed.
The internal records also reveal he disagreed with the “full thrust” of comments from former environment minister Jim Prentice about cleaning up the oilsands industry.
The release of the documents, obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation, had one opposition critic questioning whether Oliver, a Toronto MP and the lead federal minister on energy issues, was on top of his portfolio.
Oliver’s office said Wednesday the minister gets regular briefings and that the emails “speak for themselves.” It also added that the government was committed to “responsible development of Canada’s resources to create jobs.”
The comments by Oliver last November were made in response to a
Calgary Herald column on a speech by Prentice, now the senior executive
vice vice-president at CIBC.
In the speech, Prentice, who resigned as environment minister in 2010, highlighted economic opportunities arising from energy projects, including the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines to the Texas gulf coast and the west coast of British Columbia, as well as hydroelectric development projects in Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Jim Prentice’s speech has a lot of facts about energy projects, including the Northwest Upgrader, which I do not know very much about,” Oliver wrote in an email to his department’s deputy minister, Serge Dupont, on Nov. 28, 2011. “It would be useful for me to have someone do a review of the projects he mentions so that I am up to date on developments and can talk knowledgeably about what is going on, who is involved and the implications for regulatory review, jobs and economic growth.”
Prentice had explained that the $15 $15-billion
Northwest Upgrader Up-grader project would help
upgrade bitumen - the heavy oil extracted by industry from oilsands
deposits - and be critical to fuelling growth while reducing the
environmental footprint of industrial activities.
The former minister also said in his speech that energy leadership and environmental leadership were two sides of the same coin, and that Canada needed to become an environmental leader to avoid having other countries “dictate our environmental policies,” in connection with oilsands development.
But Oliver, 72, a lawyer and investment banker from Montreal who was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper following the May 2011 federal election, challenged Prentice’s views in the emails.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the full thrust of Jim Prentice’s comments on the environment but he is right that we have to pay attention to the issue, which is what we are doing,” wrote Oliver in an email to political advisers in his office on Nov. 26, 2011.
Oliver, who earned degrees from McGill University and Harvard’s business school, has publicly described environmentalists over the past year and a half as “extremists” and “radicals” who want to kill Canadian jobs.
But his director of communications highlighted the government’s efforts to protect the environment through measures such as doubling annual audits and increasing inspections of federally regulated pipelines by 50 per cent.
“These are measures that did not exist before, and we’ll continue to do
more,” said Oliver’s spokesman Chris McCluskey on Wednesday.
Liberal natural resources critic David McGuinty said there was nothing wrong about a minister saying he or she needs to learn more about complicated files. But he suggested that a natural resources minister should have had a strong grasp of major energy projects in Canada within the first week of being appointed as minister.
He also said the emails suggested that the prime minister is making all decisions on federal environment and energy policies, with little input from his ministers.
“I get the impression that (Oliver) is looking for a bit of a lifeline
here,” said McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa riding in Parliament.
“Clearly there’s a rift. I think what (Oliver) is saying is that
Mr. Prentice’s views are not aligned with the government’s hard line on
environmental issues.”
The office at Natural Resources Canada, which processed the request
through access to information legislation, said that the
content of the emails was released by accident and should have been
withheld under provisions of the law that allow the government to
protect information under consultation or deliberation.
Postmedia News declined a request from the office to destroy the
email records that included Oliver’s
comments. records.
The Access to Information Act requires the government to release public
records upon request from someone who pays a $5 fee.
Mike De Souza
“Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver admits
he didn’ to portfolio learning curve: Didn’t ‘know
very much much,’ about energy
projects emails confess”
Postmedia News
Calgary Herald
31 October
1 November
2012
A8
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told government officials - six months after he was on the job - that he did not “know very much” about energy projects and needed briefings so he could talk “knowledgeably” about the subject, internal emails have revealed.
The internal records also reveal he disagreed with the “full thrust” of comments from former environment minister Jim Prentice about cleaning up the oilsands industry.
The release of the documents, obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation, had one opposition critic questioning whether Oliver, a Toronto MP and the lead federal minister on energy issues, was on top of his portfolio.
Oliver’s office said Wednesday the minister gets regular briefings and that the emails “speak for themselves.” It also added that the government was committed to “responsible development of Canada’s resources to create jobs.”
The
Oliver’s
comments by Oliver last November were made in
response responded to a Calgary Herald column on a
speech by Prentice, now the CIBC’s senior executive
vice president at CIBC. vice-president.
In the speech, Prentice, who resigned as environment minister in
2010, highlighted economic opportunities arising from energy projects,
including the proposed Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines to the
Texas gulf coast and the west coast of British Columbia, as well as
hydroelectric hydro-electric development projects
in Quebec, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Jim Prentice’s speech has a lot of facts about energy projects, including the Northwest Upgrader, which I do not know very much about,” Oliver wrote in an email to his department’s deputy minister, Serge Dupont, on Nov. 28, 2011. “It would be useful for me to have someone do a review of the projects he mentions so that I am up to date on developments and can talk knowledgeably about what is going on, who is involved and the implications for regulatory review, jobs and economic growth.”
Prentice had explained that the $15 billion Northwest Upgrader
project would help upgrade bitumen - the heavy oil extracted by industry
from oilsands deposits - and be critical to fuelling growth while
reducing the environmental footprint of industrial activities.
The former minister
also said in his speech that energy leadership and environmental
leadership were two sides of the same coin, and that Canada needed to
become an environmental leader to avoid having other countries “dictate
our environmental policies,” in connection with oilsands development.
But
Oliver, 72, a Montreal lawyer and investment banker from
Montreal who was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen
Harper following the May 2011 federal election, challenged Prentice’s
views in the emails.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the full thrust of Jim Prentice’s comments on the environment but he is right that we have to pay attention to the issue, which is what we are doing,” wrote Oliver in an email to political advisers in his office on Nov. 26, 2011.
Oliver, who earned degrees from McGill University and Harvard’s
business school, has publicly described environmentalists over the
past year and a half as “extremists” and “radicals” who want
to kill Canadian jobs.
But his director of communications highlighted the government’s efforts
to protect the environment through measures such as doubling annual
audits and increasing inspections of federally regulated pipelines by 50
per cent.
“These are measures that did not exist before, and we’ll continue to do
more,” said Oliver’s spokesman Chris McCluskey on Wednesday.
Liberal natural resources critic David McGuinty said there
was is nothing wrong about a minister saying he or
she needs to learn more about complicated files. But he suggested that a
natural resources minister should have had a strong grasp of major
energy projects in Canada within the first week of being appointed
as becoming minister.
He also said the emails suggested that the prime
minister Harper is making all decisions on
federal environment and energy policies, with little input from his
ministers.
“I get the impression that (Oliver) is looking for a bit of a lifeline
here,” said McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa riding in Parliament.
“Clearly there’s a rift. I think what (Oliver) is saying is that
Mr. Prentice’s views are not aligned with the government’s hard line on
environmental issues.”
The office at Natural Resources Canada, which processed the request
through access to information legislation, said that the content of the
emails was released by accident and should have been withheld under
provisions of the law that allow the government to protect information
under consultation or deliberation.
Postmedia News declined a request from the office to destroy the email
records that included Oliver’s comments.
The Access to Information Act requires the government to release public
records upon request from someone who pays a $5 fee.