NDP to Conservatives: come clean on secret oil sands committee

Government must be accountable to the public about secret meetings with oil industry

OTTAWA – The Conservatives are again on the hot seat today for their close relationship with oil lobbyists after reports surfaced of secret meetings between government officials and oil industry lobbyists about how to promote the oil sands.

“This is the kind of behind closed doors decision making that Canadians are sick of. It just further degrades Canadians’ trust in the Conservative government,” said NDP Environment critic Megan Leslie (Halifax). “Time and again we see Conservatives have all the time in the world to work with oil industry lobbyists on a PR campaign, but ignore the concerns of provinces, individual Canadians and even other industries.”

According to reports, instead of holding open and accountable meetings, Conservatives created a committee and held a series of hidden and secretive meetings with oil industry professionals and lobbyists, and excluded anyone even remotely critical of the oil sands.

“What we’re asking for isn’t difficult or controversial. We’re simply asking the Conservatives to release minutes and recommendations of this committee publicly so Canadians can scrutinize their work,” added Leslie.

“Instead of relying only on the opinions of lobbyists and oil industry professionals, Conservatives must listen to everyone and make decisions in an open and accountable way,” concluded Leslie.