1/This 🧵 is about @ABDanielleSmith's claim that the Canadian govt plans to phase out Alberta oil/gas as part of its Just Transition strategy.
I'll be asking questions like:
*What did the feds actually say?
*What did Big Oil say?
*What do others say about just transition?
2/Smith is lying.
3/Another lie.
4/Yet another lie. There are more like this, but you get the idea.
5/What did the federal govt actually say?
Smith is responding to public information, a briefing package for Minister of Natural Resources @JonathanWNV to appear before the House of Commons committee.
You can download it and read for yourself.
open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/24ae60ef-359d-4c67-aa31-a71e5e7aa88d
6/Smith and her advisors claimed that Just Transition would eliminate 202,000 oil/gas jobs.
What the brief actually said is that that jobs would be "affected," not eliminated. We're in the middle of a rapidly accelerating global energy transition, so yeah, affected jobs.
7/Rob Anderson is a lawyer, former Wildrose MLA, and a senior advisor to Smith.
The other screenshot is from Minister Wilkinson's briefing note.
Again, the language is "affected," not "eliminated."
Smith and her many proxies on social media are lying.
8/To wrap up the "yes, the Premier really is fibbing" section of this thread, here's what journalist @MaxFawcett was told by a Wilkinson staff member.
9/CTV headline: Oilsands execs say a 'just transition' isn't a worry — it's their next big 'boom'
Cenovus CEO Alex "Pourbaix said the [oil sands] companies believe reaching their goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 will create 35,000 jobs."
edmonton.ctvnews.ca/oilsands-execs-say-a-just-transition-isn-t-a-worry-it-s-their-next-big-boom-1.6235956
10/Pourbaix is talking about construction jobs for the oil sands CCUS project in NE Alberta.
His comments should be taken with a grain of salt because a 2020 EY study estimated Canada will lose 50,000 direct O&G jobs to digital tech/automation by 2040.
youtu.be/v8soHTp81m0
11/Now, what does Just Transition mean, exactly? Depends on your point of view and there are many to choose from.
Think of it as a continuum: on one end, some environmentalists who want to phase-out oil/gas as quickly as possible, on the other end, retraining, up-skilling, etc.
12/Dr. Keith Stewart of Greenpeace Canada talks about phasing out oil production by 2050. Even if we don't want to, we have to because of the climate crisis. Though Stewart favours phase-out, he is still not advocating the radical policies claimed by Smith
youtu.be/iB3g39sw_4Q
13/Calgary-based Canada West Foundation takes a different view than Greenpeace: focused on worker adjustment and retraining, ensuring that jobs are created where they are lost, include communities as well as workers, etc.
@CanadaWestFdn
youtu.be/nzOz1ks3K9I
14/Prof. @MelaneeLThomas, @Ucalgarty about her public opinion polling that shows what Albertans understand the energy transition will mean less oil/gas demand and a shrinking O&G, but they want govts to help workers adapt. In other words, a just transition
youtu.be/jNdncmWLvKw
15/And how does the federal govt define just transition? In 2021, it released a discussion paper in 2021 (link below) that talked a lot about lowering greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, and helping workers adjust. Nothing about eliminating O&G jobs.
rncanengagenrcan.ca/sites/default/files/pictures/home/just_transition_discussion_paper_-_en_-_july_15.pdf
16/I've covered this story for the past 3 years. The Trudeau govt's view of just transition lines up with the Canada West Foundation, not Greenpeace or other environmental groups.
Smith, her ministers, her advisors, and the many oil bros supporting her are lying.
Why?
17/I laid out the argument in this column. An Alberta election is scheduled for May. Smith is deeply unpopular and behind in polls. "Rage-farming" is her only shot at winning. And tying the NDP and Rachel Notley to Trudeau is a big part of her strategy.
energi.media/markham-on-energy/danielle-smith-rage-farms-about-federal-just-transition/
18/Smith was not the only political leader who took some flak from Energi Media about this issue. I took @RachelNotley to task in a column for calling on Trudeau to suspend introducing just transition legislation.
energi.media/markham-on-energy/notley-should-lead-discussion-about-alberta-oil-gas-emissions-and-job-losses-not-sabotage-it/
Markham Hislop
@politicalham
Journalist. Writes about the energy transition, tech, clean energy, politics/narrative, oil/gas. My job is to be accurate and to tell the truth. Full stop.