Thread by @FairQuestions

@RachelNotley Premier Notley,

I wish you great success not only for Alberta but for Canada.

I fully agree with you that the case needs to be made to all that the Alberta oil industry will meet Canadians very high expectations for stewardship of the environment. That must be done. But...

@RachelNotley ... BUT ... while it’s necessary to earn the confidence of Canadians, that’s not sufficient. At this point, I believe that the funding and the outside interests must also be addressed.

This has become a rite of passage.

... (I’ll go on for a bit) ...

@RachelNotley ... For more than 10 years - TEN YEARS, a group of foundations, mostly from California (except the Rockefellers), has been running a very well-funded, multi-million dollar, international, hard hitting campaign against Alberta oil.

For TEN YEARS.

... (more) ...

@RachelNotley ... at first there was no information available about this campaign. Over the years, various documents have become available, including this... the campaign’s original strategy paper: offsettingresistance.ca/TarSandsCoalit…

#TarSandsCampaign

@RachelNotley ... but for years, we didn’t know what the campaign was really about.

Was it against @NorthernGateway, or KXL or @TransMtn? We didn’t know.

But now we do.

Now we know because...

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn ... because the guy (Michael Marx) who has been running the #TarSandsCampaign since it began, he said last fall (or thereabouts), that from the get-go, the campaign strategy has been to “land-lock” Alberta crude.

See: corpethics.org/the-tar-sands-…

Pretty clear, no?

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn Since you took charge, Premier Notley, you’ve done so much.

- You put on a carbon cap.

- You increased the carbon tax.

- You created the world’s largest boreal forest preserve.

You’ve done verything the activists asked for - but still, the activism against Alberta goes on.

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn When you introduced your Climate Plan, back in 2015, I was hopeful that it would be a turning point. Sad to say, that didn’t happen. Funds for land-locking Alberta crude keeps pouring in. Here’s the most recent from @RockBrosFund, May of this year: rbf.org/grantees/new-v…

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund As you know well, it’s hard to solve a problem that we misunderstand. This is why it’s important that the activism against Alberta oil is properly understood. Alas, there are many misconceptions. Take for example, the myth that the big bucks behind Tides is George Soros. Not so.

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund ... Actually, the big money behind Tides isn't George Soros. Its Google.

But who knew ?!

Here's an excerpt from Google Foundation's 2016 tax return showing payment to Tides (@TidesCommunity) for US$69 MILLION (2016):

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... Needless to say, it’s important for all us Canucks, especially our leaders, to be aware of the magnitude of what we are up against if we are serious about breaking the U.S. monopoly on our oil. Let’s be frank, that is what we are trying to do. Big challenge. HUGE.

...

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity .... This is why we need to understand just how broad the campaign to land-lock Alberta crude actually is. Take the Fed Court of Appeal’s ruling in August re: @TransMtn. That application was brought about as part of #TarSandsCampaign to land-lock your crude.
But again, who knew?

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... here's another excerpt from a U.S. TAX RETURN wherein one of the groups funded as part of #TarSandsCampaign reports to the I.R.S. that they spent US$53,576 (2016) for the legal action the brought about the Fed Court of Appeal's ruling.

Pretty clear statements, no?

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... all of the reports... all of these protests... all of these stunts... all of these celebrity cameos were publicized as part of #TarSandsCampaign that explicitly aims to "land-lock" Alberta crude.
Again, read more here: corpethics.org/the-tar-sands-…

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... As far as I can tell, the U.S. funders of activism against Alberta oil have 4 main goals, and actually, I think we can agree on 3 out of 4:

Renewable energy, energy efficiency & energy security, that’s all good. Let’s work 2gether on that.

BUT ... !!! ...

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... BUT, we must not allow our country to be bullied out of the global oil market - least of all by U.S. interests that are doing NOTHING to land-lock their own crude.

#TarSandsCampaign isn’t helping the environment one bit.

It’s time that #TarSandsCampaign comes to an end.

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... Premier Notley,

I admire your approach.

Fair. Firm.

I believe in you, Premier Notley.

I am confident that you & your team actually, really could break the U.S. monopoly on our oil than is keeping Canada over a barrel. No small task.

Glad to help.

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity ... One last point... very important...

Thank you to you, and to all Albertans for your huge contribution to the prosperity of our whole country. No province in recent years has contributed as much to our prosperity as Alberta.

Thank you.

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity CORRECTION: Terrible typo on my part!

Google granted $59 Million to Tides (2016), not $69 Million.

My apologies!

@RachelNotley @NorthernGateway @TransMtn @RockBrosFund @TidesCommunity Yikes.

CORRECTION (yet again!):

As you can see in the screengrab, the correct figure is $53,576 not $63,576.

Very sorry about this!