Release of Allan Inquiry met with criticism across Alberta

After years of waiting, the Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns, led by Steve Allan, was released.

The report stated Canadian environmental groups did nothing wrong when they accepted foreign funding for campaigns opposing Alberta oilsands development.

And Allan’s findings have come with some heavy criticism from across Alberta.

“Not surprised. Disappointed that it’s taken this entire process to come out and say that,” said Kent Fellows, an assistant professor in the school of public policy at the University of Calgary.

The report – that was twice delayed and came in $1 million over budget – points to $925 million dollars in foreign funding for environmental issues.

RELATED: Alberta public inquiry finds no wrongdoing in anti-oilsands campaign

But Allan admits it’s not possible to determine how much of that went to anti-Alberta energy campaigns.

“When you hear that, you really have to think about what the value proposition of this report or an expanded report would be,” said Fellows.

“I mean, this has cost several million to get this report which basically tells us something we more or less already knew.”

The report did find there were $54.1 million in grants for activities that targeted Alberta energy resources.

The first line of the report’s overview cites a decade-long campaign of misinformation.

But Energy Minister Sonya Savage couldn’t point to the misinformation in the document.

“To find whether something is a misrepresentation or a fact would a require a very, very significant amount of work to prove whether something is true or false,” said Savage

She said the report is important to not let this happen again.

Keith Stewart with Greenpeace says this inquiry exonerates groups like his.

“I think the real lesson here is that Jason Kenney launched the inquiry and the War Room to try and intimidate and silence his critics as if Alberta’s problems can all be laid at the feet of environmentalists,” Stewart said.

“I think what we’ve learned in the last two years is that people aren’t afraid of Jason Kenney, they’re afraid of climate change.”

When it comes to misinformation, Stewart says they fact check everything that they put out and the government can’t target them just because they don’t like what environmental groups are saying.

Meanwhile, Kevin Lacey with the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation says the $4 million price tag was just too much.

“I guess taxpayers can judge for themselves about foreign funding but, you know, look, I think this report, didn’t really deliver on anything new that we didn’t know before it came out,” he said.

Lacey says he understands the province trying to defend the oil and gas industry, but this inquiry was not the best way to do that.

The province’s official opposition also commented on the inquiry on Thursday, with Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley saying the report does not help the province and further damages its reputation.

"What Albertans are looking for is a government that will create jobs, not a government solely focused on creating anger."

NDP leader shares her thoughts on the Allan report and what she calls Minister Savage's "dishonest description" of the findings. #yeg #Yyc #ableg pic.twitter.com/e6pvdGi493

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) October 21, 2021

“The report that was released today, and certainly the minister’s dishonest description of that report today, are not going to create jobs and they are certainly not going to help undo the reputational damage that this government, and frankly this report, has done to the oil and gas industry internationally,” Notley said.

Notley does say she agrees with one thing in the report: that free speech must be respected and differences of opinions around the legitimate issues need to be heard, rather than rejected.