Sabotaging Alberta Oil

"What would become a massively disruptive intrusion into Canadian affairs would take years and a large amount of money. Enter the Rockefeller Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation."
"They, along with environmentalist charities, poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the U.S.-based Tides Foundation, a murky organization that provides cover as a legal laundering service that can funnel donations into activist groups, without revealing the source"
Gwyn Morgan, retired founding CEO, Encana Corp.

"[Payments went to the Pembina Institute to] advance ... the narrative that oil sands expansion is problematic; [to Greenpeace Canada] for events to show opposition to pipelines and tar sands expansion; [to the Living Oceans Society] to build opposition to the Kinder Morgan Pipeline; [and to Forest Ethics] to conduct education and outreach opposing the Kinder Morgan and Northern Gateway pipelines."
Vivian Krause, independent researcher, British Columbia

The Tar Sands Campaign’s agents in Ottawa: (L-R) Butts, Raynolds, Goodman, Caron.

It took a decade of intensive study and research into U.S. and Canadian tax records, along with documents and statements from those involved in this massive and controversial scheme to impact on the outcome of petroleum product extraction from Alberta's vast energy resources, but Ms. Krause kept at it until she was able to assemble all the identifying evidence linking American dollars to Canadian failures in optimizing natural resources on the world stage, where hunger for energy remains unabated.

The U.S., on the other hand, is determined to be wholly energy-independent and globally dominant in energy production and it has succeeded to an amazing degree, while absorbing Canadian oil at bargain-basement prices since no Canadian pipelines have been built to convey that oil to market abroad. The U.S. has realized a ten percent leap in energy consumption in 2018; booming natural gas extraction leading the way, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

This, at a time when the U.S. 2018 National Climate Assessment report was circulated, where scientists from 13 government agencies and outside experts have given warning that climate change "presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us". Fossil fuels accounted for 80 percent of energy use by Americans. U.S. shale oil and gas boom is making natural gas more affordable, and more power plants are running on natural gas.

The same environmental philanthropic agencies that have poured millions into sabotaging Canadian oil and gas extraction and sales appear to be undisturbed by what is occurring in their own country, focusing instead on Canada's energy resources. This, at a time when the U.S. is in a polarizing political ferment over supposed Russian interference in American politics, with claims the U.S. President has been complicit with his Russian counterpart in a campaign to have him elected to office.

In 2008, the year Barack Obama came to the presidency, the president who kept refusing to allow a Canadian oil pipeline construction to proceed, a group of U.S. anti-fossil-fuel NGOs put together a "Tar Sands Campaign Strategy 2.1" meant "to landlock the Canadian oil sands by delaying or blocking the expansion or development of key pipelines." Key strategic targets included "educating and organizing First Nations to challenge construction of pipelines across their traditional territories", and bringing "multiple actions in Canadian federal and provincial courts".

A section for "raising the negatives" was inclusive of celebrity recruits like Leonardo DiCaprio to "lend their brand to opponents of tar sands and generating a high negative media profile for tar sands oil". This intrusion on such a massive scale into Canadian affairs took years and dedicated funding. That both U.S. and Canadian tax laws require that charities document receipt and disbursement of funds was a huge help to researcher Krause in her mission to find all the evidence of this campaign possible.

Irrefutable evidence was gathered identifying tens of millions transferred from Tides U.S. to Tides Canada, its affiliate, along with 70 covering letters indentifying recipients and indicating how the funds were put to use, going toward mobilizing First Nations against the fear instilled in them of oil spills; payments to help build "indigenous solidarity resistance to pipeline routes"; and to maintain "opposition to oil tankers" and to "provide legal support for actions constraining tar sands development".

Millions of dollars from Tides Canada to operate get-out-the-vote campaigns in the 2017 B.C. provincial election went to Dogwood Initiative. based in Victoria, to ensure the government of British Columbia would be in the hands of an NDP/Green alliance certain to battle the Trans-Mountain pipeline expansion. Funding was funnelled as well to campaign activists to help the 2015 federal election become a massive Liberal win.

Canada was given an ideologically anti-oilsands Liberal government. "The controversy from the campaign (Tar Sands Campaign) contributed to political victories at the provincial and national level in 2015 and led to bold climate commitments by Canadian leaders", exulted Michael Marx, team leader from the Tar Sands Campaign.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought Gerald Butts from president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund Canada into the post of principal secretary to run the prime minister's office.

Gerald Butts in turn, with the power of his new position, brought former campaigners with him. Mario Raynolds, past executive director of the Pembina Institute became chief of staff to the Environment Ministry; Zoe Caron, a former WWF Canada official became chief of staff to the Natural Resources Ministry, while Sarah Goodman, a former vice-president of Tides Canada is also on the prime minister's staff. Anti-oil activists all, doing their environmental advocacy work at the epicentre of federal power.