It’s her burden to bear.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she essentially disbanded the infamous ‘war room’ because it’s her job to take Alberta’s energy fight to Ottawa on her own terms. And while the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) has provided valuable research and data, at the end of the day she said it was essentially up to her and her government to deliver the message that Alberta will not take Ottawa’s punitive energy policies lying down..“Because when we have a really big battle that we have to fight… I'm the one leading it.”Premier Danielle Smith.On Tuesday the Energy and Mineral department announced the closure of the CEC, ironically on the occasion of Canada’s biggest oil and gas exposition.But Smith told reporters on Wednesday that it was her decision. Half of the existing staff and intellectual property will be rolled into the department of intergovernmental affairs, which is controlled directly by the Premier’s Office.“I can tell you why it's necessary,” she said. “Because when we have a really big battle that we have to fight… I'm the one leading it.”“I think having the moniker ‘war room’ is not is not what they should be doing. They really should be giving good credible research and data on the state of our industry, the state of our emissions reduction and they should leave the fight to me and I'm quite happy to keep that fight going.”The CEC — or ‘war room’ as it came to be known, was set up by former premier Jason Kenney to counter what he called ‘disinformation’ against Alberta’s energy industry.But the message got muddled after a series of controversies involving its logo and rhetorical battles with the New York Times and producers of a children’s cartoon that created misperceptions over its real role in driving the energy debate. In the end, it became a glorified ad agency that was run separate from the government.Critics accused it of being a propaganda vehicle..Smith said the issue came to a head with Bill C-59, which would outlaw ‘greenwashing’ in advertorial messaging. Although Alberta is vehemently opposed to the bill going through the Senate, Smith said it wasn’t clear if the CEC would pass the muster on its onerous terms.“Especially now that the federal government with Bill C-59 is trying to make it illegal for us to celebrate and talk about our industry,” she continued.“I don't even know if if the Canadian Energy Centre would be allowed to talk about some of these things. But fortunately, the Alberta government has an exemption so I'm going to use that exemption. And I'm going to be making sure that at every opportunity I celebrate the things that are going well in our industry.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
It’s her burden to bear.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she essentially disbanded the infamous ‘war room’ because it’s her job to take Alberta’s energy fight to Ottawa on her own terms. And while the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) has provided valuable research and data, at the end of the day she said it was essentially up to her and her government to deliver the message that Alberta will not take Ottawa’s punitive energy policies lying down..“Because when we have a really big battle that we have to fight… I'm the one leading it.”Premier Danielle Smith.On Tuesday the Energy and Mineral department announced the closure of the CEC, ironically on the occasion of Canada’s biggest oil and gas exposition.But Smith told reporters on Wednesday that it was her decision. Half of the existing staff and intellectual property will be rolled into the department of intergovernmental affairs, which is controlled directly by the Premier’s Office.“I can tell you why it's necessary,” she said. “Because when we have a really big battle that we have to fight… I'm the one leading it.”“I think having the moniker ‘war room’ is not is not what they should be doing. They really should be giving good credible research and data on the state of our industry, the state of our emissions reduction and they should leave the fight to me and I'm quite happy to keep that fight going.”The CEC — or ‘war room’ as it came to be known, was set up by former premier Jason Kenney to counter what he called ‘disinformation’ against Alberta’s energy industry.But the message got muddled after a series of controversies involving its logo and rhetorical battles with the New York Times and producers of a children’s cartoon that created misperceptions over its real role in driving the energy debate. In the end, it became a glorified ad agency that was run separate from the government.Critics accused it of being a propaganda vehicle..Smith said the issue came to a head with Bill C-59, which would outlaw ‘greenwashing’ in advertorial messaging. Although Alberta is vehemently opposed to the bill going through the Senate, Smith said it wasn’t clear if the CEC would pass the muster on its onerous terms.“Especially now that the federal government with Bill C-59 is trying to make it illegal for us to celebrate and talk about our industry,” she continued.“I don't even know if if the Canadian Energy Centre would be allowed to talk about some of these things. But fortunately, the Alberta government has an exemption so I'm going to use that exemption. And I'm going to be making sure that at every opportunity I celebrate the things that are going well in our industry.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
