Postmedia hires former Kenney staffer to lobby Alberta government on involvement in ‘energy war room’
Documents filed with the Alberta Lobbyist Registry reveal that Canadian media behemoth Postmedia — which owns the National Post, Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun, Vancouver Sun, The Province, Ottawa Citizen and many others — is actively seeking to become “involved” in Premier Jason Kenney’s “energy war room.”
The lobbying records state Postmedia hired Kenney’s former campaign director Nick Koolsbergen to “discuss ways Postmedia could be involved in the government’s energy war room.”
Kenney proposed the creation of a “war room” during Alberta’s most recent election campaign.
The war room — which the UCP said in its campaign platform will run on a $20 million budget — will “fight fake news and share the truth about Alberta’s resource sector and energy issues.”
In his victory speech, Kenney made it clear that Alberta would take an aggressive stance against any negative attention directed at the province’s energy industry.
Kenney named several organizations, including prominent charities, environmental groups and multinational companies, suggesting they may be early targets of the war room.
Postmedia, it appears, is now seeking to become a part of this campaign.
Postmedia Network Inc. has hired former UCP Chief of Staff and campaign director Nick Koolsbergen to lobby the Alberta government "To discuss ways Postmedia could be involved in the government's energy war room." #ableg #cdnpoli #postmedia
Link: https://t.co/b7JMLMFwAT
— Dave Cournoyer (@davecournoyer) May 17, 2019
Continue reading this story on The Narwhal’s website, where it was originally published. It appears here with the editor’s permission.
