A coalition of at least eight environmental groups threatens to sue Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for defamation if he does not back down and apologize for statements saying a public inquiry found they spread disinformation about the province’s oil and gas industry.
The groups, in a letter obtained by The Canadian Press, gave the Prime Minister a week before filing a lawsuit against him.
“If Premier Kenney does not take the good advice of his lawyers, he will be served a trial by the end of next week,” said Paul Champ, an attorney for environmentalists.
The letter, delivered to Mr. Kenney’s office on Monday, is signed by the groups Dogwood Initiative, Environmental Defense Canada, Greenpeace Canada, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation, West Coast Environmental Law and Research Foundation and Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
They point to Mr. Kenney’s reaction to an investigation, chaired by Steve Allan, which sought to determine whether environmental groups were conspiring to enclose Alberta’s oil by spreading misinformation about its environmental impacts.
Mr Allan’s report, submitted in October, found that “no individual or organization […] didn’t do anything illegal. Indeed, they exercised their right to freedom of expression. ”
But the groups accuse Mr. Kenney of deliberately distorting Mr. Allan’s findings in public statements, social media posts and government websites. Specific documents are mentioned in the letter.
“These statements are defamatory because they claim that our customers have disseminated disinformation,” the letter said. “Your statements were intended to damage the reputation and credibility of the groups in the public eye by incorrectly claiming that the Alberta investigation concluded that the groups were disseminating disinformation. ”
The letter gives Mr. Kenney until November 30 to retract and withdraw the statements as well as to apologize.
Kenney’s spokesperson Harrison Fleming responded via email.
“We are not surprised that an organization that regularly practices political activism through the courts is once again threatening legal action. We will of course respond vigorously in court, if and when necessary. ”