Use The Sovereignty Act On C-59
3,504 signatures
Goal: 10,000 Signatures
Use The Sovereignty Act On C-59
The green ideologues of the Liberal-NDP coalition scored a significant win last week.
Through the passing of the omnibus budget document, Bill C-59, they forced the Pathways Alliance to strip all content from their website, leaving only a simple statement.
The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of major energy companies, has been actively combating misinformation campaigns from various radical environmental think tanks funded by the federal government.
Their statement reads:
“As part of late changes to the omnibus Bill C-59, imminent amendments to the Competition Act will create significant uncertainty for Canadian companies that want to communicate publicly about the work they are doing to improve their environmental performance, including to address climate change.
“With uncertainty on how the new law will be interpreted and applied, any clarity the Competition Bureau can provide through specific guidance may help direct our communications approach in the future. For now, we have removed content from our website, social media and other public communications. This is a direct consequence of the new legislation and is not related to our belief in the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications.
“To be clear, Pathways Alliance remains committed to the work we are doing. We believe our industry has a key role to play in reducing environmental impacts of oil sands production including helping Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while also supporting a vibrant economy and providing Canadians with secure access to affordable energy.”
The problematic elements of Bill C-59 essentially impose a gag order on oil and gas companies attempting to defend their environmental record.
Now, these companies will be required to comply with yet-to-be-determined standards for their environmental communications.
So, who will determine these standards?
Well, the federal government, of course.
Yes, this is the same federal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with his eco-radical Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, and supported by the eco-radical NDP under Jagmeet Singh.
In fact, the problematic elements of Bill C-59 were originally key parts of a private member's bill introduced by NDP MP Charlie Angus in Bill C-372: An Act respecting fossil fuel advertising.
That bill was deemed too extreme for the federal government to adopt as a standalone bill, so the Liberals incorporated its censorship concept into Bill C-59, where they hoped it would remain hidden among the pages of budget items.
“We need to make sure people are debating and discussing and basing their worldview on things that are anchored in truth and reality,” said Trudeau.
Of course, the Bill gives the federal government the power to decide what's true, and we all know Trudeau's truth and reality differ heavily from the views of most people nowadays.
He and his eco-radical environment minister Guilbeault are making it clear that if they are going down, they are going to do everything they can to take their number one enemy down with them - the energy industry.
Their poll numbers are not so rosy either - indicating that the general public is souring on Ottawa’s take on the economy and the role of affordable energy on keeping costs low for consumers.
The censorship idea is so crazy that it was even opposed by the Alberta component of the NDP - a consistent theme during the leadership race to replace outgoing former Premier Rachel Notley.
Of course, the NDP just elected former Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi in a blow-out victory, giving him a strong mandate.
However, Nenshi has not expressed an opinion on Bill C-59, or its predecessor, Bill C-372.
Does the new Nenshi-led NDP support giving the federal government the power to determine what constitutes free speech when it comes to our energy industry?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has made it clear that she isn’t going along with “absurd authoritarian censorship.”
In a joint statement issued with Energy Minister Brian Jean and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, Smith stated that:
“Indeed, it would appear to be part of an agenda to create chaos and uncertainty for energy investors for the purpose of phasing out the energy industry altogether. Ironically, this kind of absurd authoritarian censorship will only work to stifle many billions in investments in emissions reducing technologies – the very technologies the world needs to reduce emissions while avoiding energy poverty for billions around the world.”
“We’re already seeing the NDP-Liberal coalition’s plan play out as organizations like Pathways Alliance and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers are making difficult decisions to remove websites, reduce available information, and cease advertising out of fear that if they do not comply with the narrative of eco-extremists like Minister Steven Guilbeault and Jagmeet Singh, their companies will face tens of millions in penalties. This is a direct consequence of the new legislation and is not related to the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications.”
Smith, Jean, and Schulz hit the nail on the head.
Not only that, they are prepared to fight.
One option they are considering is the use of the Alberta Sovereignty Act, a key piece of legislation that serves as the cornerstone of the Free Alberta Strategy that we wrote in anticipation of these types of attacks.
This is exactly the kind of thing we had in mind when we designed the Sovereignty Act.
The Alberta Sovereignty Act is a law that grants the Alberta Legislature absolute discretion to refuse any provincial enforcement of federal legislation that, in its view, interferes with provincial areas of jurisdiction or constitutes an attack on the interests of Albertans.
Natural resources are provincial jurisdiction.
Censoring our oil and gas companies clearly constitutes an attack on the interests of Albertans.
We believe that the use of the Alberta Sovereignty Act should be central to the fight back process.
If you agree, sign the petition to Use The Sovereignty Act On C-59 to defend our energy industry against censorship by Ottawa:
3,504 signatures
Goal: 10,000 Signatures
Use The Sovereignty Act On C-59
The green ideologues of the Liberal-NDP coalition scored a significant win last week.
Through the passing of the omnibus budget document, Bill C-59, they forced the Pathways Alliance to strip all content from their website, leaving only a simple statement.
The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of major energy companies, has been actively combating misinformation campaigns from various radical environmental think tanks funded by the federal government.
Their statement reads:
“As part of late changes to the omnibus Bill C-59, imminent amendments to the Competition Act will create significant uncertainty for Canadian companies that want to communicate publicly about the work they are doing to improve their environmental performance, including to address climate change.
“With uncertainty on how the new law will be interpreted and applied, any clarity the Competition Bureau can provide through specific guidance may help direct our communications approach in the future. For now, we have removed content from our website, social media and other public communications. This is a direct consequence of the new legislation and is not related to our belief in the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications.
“To be clear, Pathways Alliance remains committed to the work we are doing. We believe our industry has a key role to play in reducing environmental impacts of oil sands production including helping Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while also supporting a vibrant economy and providing Canadians with secure access to affordable energy.”
The problematic elements of Bill C-59 essentially impose a gag order on oil and gas companies attempting to defend their environmental record.
Now, these companies will be required to comply with yet-to-be-determined standards for their environmental communications.
So, who will determine these standards?
Well, the federal government, of course.
Yes, this is the same federal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with his eco-radical Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, and supported by the eco-radical NDP under Jagmeet Singh.
In fact, the problematic elements of Bill C-59 were originally key parts of a private member's bill introduced by NDP MP Charlie Angus in Bill C-372: An Act respecting fossil fuel advertising.
That bill was deemed too extreme for the federal government to adopt as a standalone bill, so the Liberals incorporated its censorship concept into Bill C-59, where they hoped it would remain hidden among the pages of budget items.
“We need to make sure people are debating and discussing and basing their worldview on things that are anchored in truth and reality,” said Trudeau.
Of course, the Bill gives the federal government the power to decide what's true, and we all know Trudeau's truth and reality differ heavily from the views of most people nowadays.
He and his eco-radical environment minister Guilbeault are making it clear that if they are going down, they are going to do everything they can to take their number one enemy down with them - the energy industry.
Their poll numbers are not so rosy either - indicating that the general public is souring on Ottawa’s take on the economy and the role of affordable energy on keeping costs low for consumers.
The censorship idea is so crazy that it was even opposed by the Alberta component of the NDP - a consistent theme during the leadership race to replace outgoing former Premier Rachel Notley.
Of course, the NDP just elected former Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi in a blow-out victory, giving him a strong mandate.
However, Nenshi has not expressed an opinion on Bill C-59, or its predecessor, Bill C-372.
Does the new Nenshi-led NDP support giving the federal government the power to determine what constitutes free speech when it comes to our energy industry?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has made it clear that she isn’t going along with “absurd authoritarian censorship.”
In a joint statement issued with Energy Minister Brian Jean and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, Smith stated that:
“Indeed, it would appear to be part of an agenda to create chaos and uncertainty for energy investors for the purpose of phasing out the energy industry altogether. Ironically, this kind of absurd authoritarian censorship will only work to stifle many billions in investments in emissions reducing technologies – the very technologies the world needs to reduce emissions while avoiding energy poverty for billions around the world.”
“We’re already seeing the NDP-Liberal coalition’s plan play out as organizations like Pathways Alliance and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers are making difficult decisions to remove websites, reduce available information, and cease advertising out of fear that if they do not comply with the narrative of eco-extremists like Minister Steven Guilbeault and Jagmeet Singh, their companies will face tens of millions in penalties. This is a direct consequence of the new legislation and is not related to the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications.”
Smith, Jean, and Schulz hit the nail on the head.
Not only that, they are prepared to fight.
One option they are considering is the use of the Alberta Sovereignty Act, a key piece of legislation that serves as the cornerstone of the Free Alberta Strategy that we wrote in anticipation of these types of attacks.
This is exactly the kind of thing we had in mind when we designed the Sovereignty Act.
The Alberta Sovereignty Act is a law that grants the Alberta Legislature absolute discretion to refuse any provincial enforcement of federal legislation that, in its view, interferes with provincial areas of jurisdiction or constitutes an attack on the interests of Albertans.
Natural resources are provincial jurisdiction.
Censoring our oil and gas companies clearly constitutes an attack on the interests of Albertans.
We believe that the use of the Alberta Sovereignty Act should be central to the fight back process.
If you agree, sign the petition to Use The Sovereignty Act On C-59 to defend our energy industry against censorship by Ottawa:
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A trust account for all those remittances, documentation of transfers to the account (for the taxman in case he wants to garnish wages)? Would something like this work to provide additional leverage for Alberta in fighting Ottawa?