Alberta launches inquiry into foreign influences in the energy industry

Alberta fighting back Premier Jason Kenney has unveiled the latest attempt to save Alberta's oil. Jordan Kanygin reports.

The government of Alberta’s energy ‘war room’ is launching an inquiry to look into the “foreign funding of anti-Alberta energy campaigns,” Premier Jason Kenney announced Thursday.

The year-long public inquiry will include witness interviews and research, followed by a public hearing.

Accountant Steve Allan, who is the executive chair of Calgary Economic Development, will head up the inquiry and present a report to the Alberta government by July, 2020.

Kenney made the announcement at the McDougall Centre in Calgary, standing beside Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer.

The government’s $30-million war room was established to lobby on behalf of the province’s oil and gas sector, Kenney said, adding this step will help fight the “well-funded foreign campaign targeting our energy industry.”

The cost of the inquiry is $2.5 million.

“The campaign to landlock Alberta oil has caused over a decade of reputational harm to Alberta’s energy sector,” Schweitzer said in a news release.