The commissioner isn’t going to uncover a hidden “anti-Alberta” agenda by investigating those who speak out about the climate crisis. The real scandal is in the millions of dollars the UCP government has wasted on this misguided inquiry.
Despite this, Allan perseveres. This month, he approached a number of environmental charities, including MakeWay and Stand.Earth, asking them to participate in the inquiry. This puts organizations in a difficult position.
The inquiry appears biased off the bat. Even the name, “Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns,” presupposes that the groups in question are acting against the public interest. Given this, it is unfair to ask organizations to volunteer time and resources to participate in a process that is stacked against them. On the other hand, when organizations decline to partake, they risk being accused of secrecy and give Allan more control over how he frames findings.
This lose-lose situation is one reason Ecojustice asked the court to halt the inquiry until a judge has ruled on whether the process is legal in the first place. In July, our lawyers filed for an injunction against the inquiry. If granted, an injunction would force Allan to stop interviewing and investigating charities and individuals until the court rules on the inquiry’s legality.
Taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot a multi-million dollar bill for an inquiry that isn’t in their best interests. Canadians — and the charities they support — shouldn’t have to divert time and money away from valuable environmental work in order to answer biased questions in a process stacked against them. This is even truer now, as we face a global pandemic, a climate emergency and a biodiversity crisis all at once.