Alberta NDP wants $30M energy war room shut down

EDMONTON — The Opposition in Alberta says the government’s $30-million energy war room has been such a cavalcade of flubs and mistakes that it should be shut down.

NDP energy critic Irfan Sabir says the party’s caucus supports promoting the message of oil and gas development, but says the war room is doing more harm than good with its high-profile errors.

He says at $82,000 a day, there are much more important projects that could be funded.

The energy war room, officially known as the Canadian Energy Centre, was launched on Dec. 11 with a mandate to promote the industry and fire back in real time against what the United Conservative government deems to be misinformation.

It has been criticized for using someone else’s trademarked logo and for having staff members refer to themselves as reporters instead of government employees.

The head of the war room, Tom Olsen, has also been mocked by critics for a slip of the tongue in a TV interview in which he said the purpose of the energy centre was about “disproving true facts.”