Weekly Discussion Prep Sheet #3

BMST 4404 WEEKLY READING/PODCAST/VIDEO DISCUSSION PREP SHEET Winter 2025 Date: February 25th 2025 PART I KEY POINTS: 1. The Energy War Room was supposed to defend Alberta’s oil industry, but it was really just pushing politics. The Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), or “Energy War Room,” was created by the UCP government to stand up for Alberta’s oil and gas industry. The government claimed it was meant to fight “misinformation” and tell the real story about Alberta’s energy, but in reality, it was just a way for the UCP to push its own political message. It wasn’t an independent or neutral source, it only shared information that made oil and gas look good and ignored anything about climate change or the future of energy. The way it was set up made it seem like anyone who criticized the industry was part of some anti-Alberta conspiracy, when in reality, the conversation about fossil fuels is much bigger than just one province. Instead of being open to different viewpoints, the War Room just shut down any debate, which made it hard to trust. 2. The CEC made a lot of embarrassing mistakes, and people stopped taking it seriously. Right from the start, the War Room became more of a joke than a serious organization. One of the first things it did was steal a logo from an American company not once, but twice, which made it look unprofessional. Then, it started attacking media outlets like The New York Times, as if calling them biased would somehow change the way people saw Alberta’s oil industry. But the most ridiculous thing it did was go after Bigfoot Family, a children’s movie on Netflix that had an oil company as the bad guy. The War Room actually started a petition against a cartoon, which just made people laugh. Even conservatives and people in the oil industry who normally support the UCP were embarrassed. Instead of helping Alberta’s reputation, the War Room made it look insecure and out of touch. 3. The War Room ignored the real issues about oil and energy and made the conversation one-sided. One of the biggest problems with the CEC was that it only told one side of the story. It talked a lot about how oil and gas create jobs and help Canada’s economy, but it ignored concerns about pollution, climate change, and the fact that the world is moving toward cleaner energy. It also kept repeating the idea that Canadian oil is more “ethical” than oil from places like Saudi Arabia or Russia, calling their oil “tyranny oil.” While it’s true that Canada has better labor laws and environmental rules, this argument missed the point. The real question isn’t whether Canadian oil is better than foreign oil, it’s whether we should still be relying so much on oil at all. Instead of talking about how Alberta could prepare for the future, the War Room just kept defending oil like nothing was changing. That kind of thinking isn’t just unrealistic, it actually hurts Alberta in the long run by refusing to face the reality that the world is moving toward renewable energy. PART II DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: provide two questions related to the reading/media for the group to stimulate discussion. 1. Do you think that a government should spend taxpayer money on something like the Energy War Room, or should industries defend themselves without government help? 2. If Alberta’s oil industry is struggling with criticism and changing energy demands, what are some better ways the province could respond instead of using a War Room?