Danielle Smith brings ‘energy war room’ closer to Prime Minister’s Office

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the decision to move the Canadian Energy Center (CEC) – commonly known as the province’s energy war room – into the Department of Intergovernmental Relations will help tighten its direction and achieve its objectives.

As part of the move, the center’s mandate, money and three staff members are moved closer to the prime minister.

“When we have big initiatives to implement, they should be led out of the Prime Minister’s Office. So that was the idea behind it,” Smith said..

The government announced its decision on Tuesday, saying the organization “will continue to increase public understanding of the role that global oil and gas play in a secure energy future” as part of intergovernmental relations.

The Situation Room was created to combat what then-Prime Minister Jason Kenney called misinformation in the energy sector, but when Smith was elected, funding for the center was significantly reduced. At one time, the CEC had a budget of $31 million. More recently, that figure rose to $9 million.

“This is the first step in fixing what has been a very embarrassing and very expensive promotional campaign by the Kenney government,” said Trevor Harrison, a political scientist at the University of Lethbridge.

The NDP opposition, however, wants the reorganization to be the subject of an investigation by the auditor general. He considers the very heart of the center’s objectives unnecessary.

“You don’t need a war room to communicate the achievements of Alberta or its industry. There’s some really good work that speaks for itself, and what you need is stable policy,” said Nagwan Al-Guneid, Alberta NDP energy critic. .

“The objective was to support the sector. So I want to understand how has this helped Alberta’s energy sector in any way?

Although the center was funded by taxpayers, it was considered a private company, exempt from freedom of information laws.

Moving the center to a provincial ministry means it is now subject to the same rules as the rest of government and open to somewhat greater public scrutiny.

The CEO is no longer

Tom Olsen, CEO and executive director of the (CEC), revealed that he would not continue his work with the center, in a post on LinkedIn.

“I am proud of the role that a dedicated team of CEC professionals has played in defending the interests of one of Canada’s most vital industries and I applaud the Alberta government’s decision to entrust this important work internally,” he said.

Olsen said he would work with the government over the coming weeks to smooth the transition.

“I look forward to moving on to some as-yet-undefined opportunities next,” he said.