EDMONTON — Alberta's energy war room is now on a legal footing and will soon be up and running.
Energy Minister Sonya Savage told the legislature the war room is now incorporated and will be formally titled the Canadian Energy Centre.
Savage says the centre will focus on improving the reputation of Alberta's oil and gas sector and challenging those it believes are delivering misinformation.
She announced it will be run by Tom Olsen, a former journalist and a United Conservative candidate in the last election.
She says the centre will have three units: a rapid response unit, an energy literacy unit, and a data and research unit.
“The rapid response unit will be responsible for issuing swift responses to misinformation spread through social and traditional media,” Savage said in a statement.
“The energy literacy unit will create original content to elevate the general understanding of Alberta’s energy sector, and help the province take control of its energy story. Finally, the data and research unit will be in charge of centralizing and analyzing data to reinforce this story with factual evidence for investors, researchers and policy makers.”
The $30-million centre is part of what Premier Jason Kenney has termed a “fight-back” strategy against those he says are unfairly denigrating the industry and contributing to the landlocking of Alberta's non-renewable resources.
The province has also launched a $2.5-million public inquiry into foreign funding of anti-oil advocacy groups.
© 2019 The Canadian Press, with a file from JWN
