Election meddling probe should look at Big Foreign Oil

Political action by companies is insidious, says Gordon Laxer.

The Hogue inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's last two federal elections gave full standing to the Conservative and New Democratic parties, who can cross-examine witnesses. That's good, but why was Green party co-leader Elizabeth May excluded from even appearing before the inquiry?

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue excluded her because May wished to present evidence on election meddling by Big Foreign Oil. So did several others that Justice Hogue called the “climate group.” I was among them.

The Hogue inquiry came about after the opposition parties torpedoed the special-rapporteur inquiry of former governor general David Johnston. They demanded and seemingly got a replacement inquiry with more public input and broader scope, including adding interference by foreign “non-state actors.” Unfortunately, Hogue ruled out hearing about foreign non-state actors unless they were proxies of foreign governments.

That overly restrictive interpretation contravenes Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's intent. “We won't let any foreign actor meddle in our democracy. Period,” Joly stated. What part of “any” does the Hogue Commission not understand? Excluding testimony on non-state actors contravenes the commission's mandate to examine “any form of foreign interference directly or indirectly targeting Canada's democratic processes.” Big Foreign Oil does that in spades.

Political meddling by Big Foreign Oil is the most insidious form of meddling because it's almost invisible. Foreign oil corporations hire Canadian managers who wave the Canadian flag and denounce Canadian environmentalists as foreign-funded traitors. Yet Big Foreign Oil, not environmentalists, is overwhelmingly foreign-funded. All big oil corporations in Canada are either wholly or majority foreign-owned. No major Canadian-owned oil corporation has existed since Suncor took over Petro-Canada in 2009. Foreign-owned means foreign-funded and foreign-influenced.[

At the urging of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Alberta held a public inquiry into foreign-funded political meddling, targeting non-state actors, not foreign governments. Alberta's government set up the inquiry to examine “foreign-funded anti-oil” campaigns led by environmentalists. The inquiry's mandate smeared environmentalists, but found only a tiny trickle of foreign funding.

When Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage announced the inquiry's final report, she said it's a “real concern that any group is influencing political and regulatory change using foreign funding.” Agreed. Why was that not the starting point of the Alberta and Hogue inquiries? Both inquiries seemingly have had opposite mandates, but share a crucial similarity. Both demonstrate the political power of Big Foreign Oil to avoid public scrutiny. CAPP has been Big Foreign Oil's apex lobbyist. Of all the oil produced by corporations on CAPP's board, only 2.8 per cent is produced by Canadian-owned corporations. CAPP claims to speak for the “Canadian” oil industry. Governments listen to it. So do many Canadians, most of whom are likely unaware that the incessant commercials portraying the oil industry as part of climate solutions are paid for by foreign-funded corporations. Why do we allow wealthy foreigners, grouped together in a corporation, to meddle in our politics?

Canada's Elections Modernization Act (2018) forbade third-parties from using funds in elections “if the source of funds is a foreign entity.” Foreign corporations are considered foreign entities. Yet, there is a loophole. As long as they list their headquarters in Canada, they are deemed to be Canadian. They do massive political advertising before and during elections, continually lobby governments to dismantle climate protections, and astroturf groups run by CAPP flood social media and pose as genuine grassroots Canadians.

Foreign oil corporations know how to meddle in our mainstream politics far more effectively than the clunky agents of China.

Shifting some of the foreign meddling focus to Big Foreign Oil would have an added benefit. Chinese Canadians have been unfairly targeted for the actions of China's distant government.

The Hogue inquiry must open up to other voices. Canadian voters must decide their own destiny free from any foreign influence.