Harper Government Spent Millions to Push Tar Sands on First Nations

Solidifying the country's reputation as a "true petrostate," the government of Canada reportedly spent millions of taxpayer dollars on previously undisclosed tar sands lobbying activities, including a concerted push to 'educate' First Nations communities opposed to the toxic drilling projects.

According to a series of 2014 government policy documents obtained by a Greenpeace analyst through a Freedom of Information request, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 2013 budget included $30 million to be invested over two years in a public relations campaign and domestic and international "outreach activities" to promote Alberta's tar sands.

The Guardian's Martin Lukacs reports on Wednesday that "the outreach activities, which cost $4.5 million and were never publicly disclosed, included efforts to 'advance energy literacy amongst [British Columbia] First Nations communities.'"

Further, "The documents indicate the government was funding dozens of projects between 2014 and 2015 to engage Indigenous communities and advance 'Canada's reputation as a global energy leader.'" Natural Resources Canada declined to elaborate on the specific outreach projects when asked for comment.

Previous reports by Lukacs found that the Alberta government had even promised some First Nations leaders an investor stake in oil extraction projects in exchange for their help in convincing Indigenous groups to support various pipeline proposals.

First Nations have generally fiercely opposed the tar sands industry and proposed pipelines, such as Enbridge's Northern Gateway, which would transport heavy, toxic crude from Alberta across ancestral lands to coastal Kitimat, BC. The grassroots mobilization, including several legal challenges, against these projects has successfully hampered construction thus far.

Reacting to this latest disclosure, 350.org founder Bill McKibben tweeted, "Secret documents reveal the Canadian government spent tens of millions advocating for tarsands. A true petrotic state."

The Guardian also notes that the government documents revealed outreach activities, including "research to support Canadian lobbying against a European environmental measure that would have hampered tar sands exports. Canada has succeeded in delaying the measure—the EU Fuel Quality Directive—several times."

Greenpeace climate analyst Keith Stewart, who first obtained the policy documents, said: "The Harper government gutted environmental laws and destroyed public faith in the regulatory system to fast-track pipelines, then wasted $30 million of public money on a public relations campaign doomed to fail. They seem to think that if they spend enough money, they can fool all of the people all of the time, but that kind of arrogance is a risky re-election strategy at a time of low oil prices and rising concern over climate change."