Thursday, March 06, 2014

Bruce Carson : "the secret sauce"

~~~updated below~~~

"You are the secret sauce," Doug Black, President of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, wrote to EPIC co-founder and Harper's disgraced "fixer" Bruce Carson.

Bruce Carson, former PMO staffer, has banking records seized by RCMP 

According to CBC yesterday, an RCMP affidavit alleges Carson illegally lobbied many of his former government colleagues - including Nigel Wright and Wayne Wouters, Clerk of the Privy Council - on behalf of EPIC, an industry lobby group of 38 energy resource members including Shell, Suncor, Enbridge, EnCana, Imperial Oil, Cenovus, ConoccoPhillips and Canadian Natural Resources, for a salary of $10,000 a month. 
Black responded, "Excellent. Need Nigel on side."
Interestingly, Bruce Carson and Nigel Wright share the same lawyer, Patrick McCann. 
Doug Black was appointed to the Senate last year.

EPIC's mandate was to produce an industry-led national energy strategy, which they did in 2011, and by June 2013 the 100% industry-funded Alberta Energy Regulator was set up with yet another EPIC vice chair and energy lobbyist as chair - Gerard Protti, founder of CAPP.

The EPIC leadership line-up from 2011:
Doug Black – EPIC President 
David Emerson – Chair 
Bruce Carson – Vice Chair 
Elyse Allan – Vice Chair - CEO of GE Canada  
Gerard Protti – Vice Chair - VP of EnCana, founder of CAPP 
Daniel Gagnier – Vice Chair - VP of Alcan

There's another interesting relationship in that line-up as well.

When Carson appeared before the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment, and Natural Resources in April 2010, in addition to plumping for building a pipeline to move oil from Alberta to BC - Enbridge and TransCanada Pipelines are both member orgs of EPIC - Carson also made a pitch for smart meters. 
Nine months later on Jan. 25 2011, BC Hydro gave the first contract for its smart meter program to Corix Utilities, which (is) was at the time half-owned by CAI Capital Management Ltd. 

As it happens, yet another EPIC founding chair, David Emerson, was previously made a senior advisor to CAI Capital Management and then the following day he was named CEO and board chair of B.C. Transmission Corp., which "plans, operates and maintains the province's publicly-owned electrical transmission system" for BC Hydro. 
(BC Transmission was privatized by the BC Libs in 2003 and then reabsorbed back into BC Hydro at massive public cost in 2010)
                        
h/t Joyce Miller at Watershed Sentinel back in 2011 for Corix research.

Photo at top from Canada Ministry of Environment webpage shows Carson attending a meeting with then Environment Minister Jim Prentice and US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu two months after leaving Harper's office. 

updates : Welcome, Gazetteers!
with thanks for your wonderful link to Tyee Will McMartin's piece on Emerson, smart meters, CAI, and Corix.

APTN : Senior Trudeau advisor linked to Bruce Carson's alleged illegal lobbying: RCMP document

That would be Liberal National Campaign Co-Chair Daniel Gagnier from our 2011 list above - president of EPIC since sometime in 2012 and still  going  strong.

Poor old EPIC. Seems every time they get a little publicity, their website goes offline. It's been down since last night so here's a screencap taken yesterday.




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21 comments:

Danneau said...

This is where a taxpayer becomes like a congregant in whatever house of worship, putting cash into the collection plate and watching it disappear without a clue about where it goes and what it does. This particular house of worship bows to its own wallet, networks with other houses of worship for mutual benefit and to the exclusion of the aggregate congregation. The clergy gets the gravy and the rubes get to feel good that the bishop is so well dressed.

Hugh said...

I believe corix is no longer owned by cai.

Alison said...

Hugh : Yes, thanks. BC Investment Management Corp was the other partner in CAI's purchase of Corix in 2006.
Then after all this went down, bcIMC bought out CAI's stake in Nov 2012.

Danneau : Boris said something the other day at Dawg's that stuck with me (if I haven't entirely mangled it) : Governments generally look after nations, not communities or people.

Easy to forget this.

Anonymous said...

Um, Daniel Gagnier, the Liberal Party of Canada National Campaign Co-Chair?

Alison said...

Yup. I first copied that list off the EPIC website on March 20, 2011 and posted it at Bread n Roses.
The members page left up at EPIC now lists him as president, only one left off that list.

Alison said...

To clarify : only one left from that 2011 list.

Anonymous said...

So Trudeau's campaign manager is an oil lobbyist.
Is he still with EPIC?

Alison said...

Yes. According to the Office of the Commissioner of Canada, Gagnier's lobbying registration for EPIC is active, was rolled over from last year's one month ago.

Subject Matters :

Economic Development
Energy
Environment

Subject Matter Details :

"Presenting a philosophical energy strategy that is adopted politically and then motivates regulatory activity in terms of economic development, energy and the environment."

Who is being lobbied? :

Environment Canada (EC)
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
Privy Council Office (PCO)

"No monthly communications reports have been submitted for the last 12 months"
__________________________________

APTN put up a story a few hours ago :
Senior Trudeau advisor linked to Bruce Carson’s alleged illegal lobbying: RCMP document

They appear to have some of the original docs.

West End Bob said...

(BC Transmission was privatized by the BC Libs in 2003 and then reabsorbed back into BC Hydro at massive public cost in 2010)

Quite the trick, that . . . .

Hugh said...

More about EPIC:

http://www.canadasenergy.ca/

Purple library guy said...

"Governments generally look after nations, not communities or people."

We wish. Governments generally look after the wealthy interest groups that pay the top politicians off to make it happen. That's what this post is all about, right?

Boris said...

PLG, under a corporatist regime, is there a difference between the two?

Cathie from Canada said...

Wheels within wheels all over. What a brilliant post -- I had no idea everything was so incestuous.

Anonymous said...

Kinda buried the lede here, didn't you, Alison?

Alison said...


Hugh : re your link. EPIC has gone offline - see update!

Anonymous said...

Ya and this is what you get when the 'Industry' runs government along with known Harper slime-ball(s).

Quiz: How well (no pun intended) do you know Canadoil*? or How deep is your knowledge of the Canadoil* well of publicly owned resources?

Read the article then answer the multiple choice with the best answer.

1. Is this land your or theirs?

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/02/28/Alberta-Mother-Fights-Fracked-Wells/

a) You as a citizen: own the land and the resources.

b) Canadoil*: Big oil foreign, domestic and communist own the land and the resources.

c) You as a citizen are granted all the non-rights, duties and obligations of a peon indebted to Canadoil* and can only own a parcel of land in name; not in title, you may live on it if you pay your taxes but have no say in the ultimate fate of said parcel (toxic dump).

d) b) & c).

2. Do the regulators work for you or the industry?

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/03/05/Alberta-Regulator-Halts-Steam-Bitumen-Mining/

a) For you as a citizen: the regulators work in your best interest and that of our environment.

b) For Canadoil*: because Big oil foreign, domestic and communist own the land and the resources.

c) You as a citizen with all the non-rights, duties and obligations of a person in peonage are indebted to Canadoil* and can only own a parcel of land in name; not in title, you may live on it if you pay your taxes but have no say in the ultimate fate of said parcel turned toxic dump if the regulators say so.

d) b) & c).

3. Does the government make 'water tight' regulation to contain industry or make it like a sieve allowing unfettered access to public wealth without responsibility?

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/03/03/Big-Oil-Loophole/

a) Yes: you as a citizen; the government makes regulations to work in your best interest and that of our environment.

b) For Canadoil*: because Big oil foreign, domestic and communist own the land and the resources.

c) You as a citizen are with all the non-rights, duties and obligations of a person in peonage are indebted to Canadoil* and can only own a parcel of land in name; not in title, you may live on it if you pay your taxes but have no say in the ultimate fate of said parcel turned toxic dump if the regulators say so.

d) b) & c).

If you answered d) for 1., 2. & 3. congratulations you understand the chain of command:

Big oil: foreign, domestic and communist --> Harper --> Harpers Imperium (PMO, dirty tricks, corruption, robo-calls, dirty money, criminal activities ad infinitum ad nauseam)--> The Conservative Party of Canada--> Stolen Majority Government--> House of Commons & Senate--> Peons (you and I that is, no longer considered citizens as there is no longer a nation Canada)

* formerly know as Canada an independent nation, now owned by foreign including communist and domestic oil interests and their appointed governors are the CPC headed by the Harper Imperium.

Mogs

Hugh said...

"EPIC's concentration on regulatory improvements were clearly laid out in draft documents presented to provincial and federal ministers in the summer of 2011 and, earlier this year, Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced legislative changes that would put EPIC's recommendations into federal law. Regulatory changes within Bill C-38 reflect recommendations of EPIC surrounding regulatory streamlining."

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/energy-policy-institute-canada-key-directions-canadian-energy-strategy-released-1686763.htm

Alison said...

Hugh: Whoa, good catch!
I've been rereading that 2011 EPIC report. Post to follow. And thank you.

Alison said...

Mogs' link

Mogs : You have to think that if these things were called what they are -
"sour gas" resembles cyanide, "frac oil" contains benzene, and "lost circulation" is poisoning wells -
that this issue would have received a whole lot more attention sooner.

Instead we get the 100% industry-funded Alberta Energy Regulator, as recommended by EPIC and headed up by one of EPIC's former vice-chairs who also happens to be the founder of the oil industry lobby group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Alison said...

Mogs : re part c in your quiz above. This is what's called "right to mine and minerals" in Canadian law.

"Since a grant of mineral rights is essentially meaningless unless accompanied by the right to actually recover those minerals, it is assumed that the grant of mineral rights includes the right to recover the minerals as well. Since mineral rights are a form of property right, holders of mineral rights enjoy the common law right to the use and benefit of their property"

Otherwise those mining rights would be deemed to have been expropriated and would require compensation.

EPIC proposes an expansion on those rights :

"Just as there is a presumption that mineral rights-holders should be able to recover the minerals in question, there should also be a presumption that mineral rights-holders should be able to transport recovered minerals to market, such as through a pipeline. Otherwise, the
mineral right would lose its inherent value."

I'll get into this a bit when I update my next post.

Anonymous said...

Bruce Carson at the table with Jim Prentice: I'm betting it won't be long before the Wild Rose uses this photo in an election. They wouldn't miss an opportunity like this, would they?

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