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Oil and Gas researcher Vivian Krause to speak in Lacombe

UCP fundraiser brings in researcher claiming to expose dirty American lobby money in Canada
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A popular reseacher in Canadian conservative circles — Vivian Krause — is coming to Lacombe to speak at fundraiser for local United Conservative Party (UCP) consituency association.

Her research primarily focuses on how American lobby groups have sought a way to land-lock Albertan oil from reaching international markets.

“There has been a strong lobby against the Canadian oil industry to reach international markets,” Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ron Orr said. “Many Canadians don’t understand how the American political system works. There are a lot of very strong lobby groups that spend a lot of money — one individual has bragged that he has put $90 million into this campaign — to accomplish their objectives.

“Back in 2008, there was a meeting in New York and a number of people set out on a campaign strategy to landlock Albertan oil in order to provide American oil security.”

According to Orr, Krause’s research provides a paper trail for this campaign

“The Americans used to talk a lot about American oil self sufficiency,” Orr said. “They have attempted to solve that in two ways — one is finding more oil reserves on their own land and the second is a deliberate attempt to make sure the Canadian oil sands — which is a very large reserve in the world — will never reach international markets.

“Krause has been able to document and expose the reality of this and we think it is a message that people need to hear.”

Orr said the talk is important because he believes that anti-pipeline movements are often the result of misunderstandings of the industry.

“In the the ultimate end, it comes down to the livelihood, the jobs, the prosperity of everyday Canadians. Alberta has been the economic engine for driving a lot of Canada’s prosperity in recent years,” he said.

Orr hopes that non-party members will hear Krause’s message, but he understands that a fundraiser can often be an echo chamber of belief — meaning the message may remain within party confines.

“It is a challenge to get it the entire population,” he said. “One of the disconnects that needs to be addressed is that some people infer that the minute you are pro-oil, you are anti-environment or anti clean air, water and land. That is not the case as all. We have the cleanest oil and the highest level of standards in the world.

“We need energy in order to survive as a society and we need to do it cleanly.”

Orr argues that Albertan oil producers should not be punished because of the higher standards of production compared to other oil producing countries

“It is not an anti-environmental message — it really is about promoting the cleanest energy in the world and doing it in a way that allows us to prosper,” he said.

The funds raised from the night will go towards the constituency association and towards the upcoming election

“I think it will be a worthwhile evening and I think it will be very informative,” he said. Vivian Krause is very well-researched and she has done her homework. It will be very enlightening for people.

“You don’t just have to be in the oil and gas industry to believe what she says.”

Ticket information can be found by contacting the local Lacombe-Ponoka UCP constituency.



todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com

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