OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has backed his new environment minister with a strong defence of the Canadian oilsands, saying they are an important source of job creation and the world should know this country is an "ethical society" which will reliably provide the resource.

Harper made his comments Friday, after Environment Minister Peter Kent said earlier this week that the oilsands have a poor reputation because of disinformation and that they actually produce "ethical oil."

Kent's choice of that phrase has drawn attention as an apparent new attempt by the Conservative government to improve the reputation of the oilsands in Washington, D.C., where they have been pilloried by critics who have lobbied for a boycott.

Canadian defenders of the oilsands have been keen to point out to Americans that their other major sources of oil are from nations — such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran — that don't practise western-style democracy.

At an event in Welland, Ont., on Friday, Harper was asked why his government was changing its approach to "selling" the oilsands.

"I can only say that the government's position is clear," said Harper.

"The oilsands represent a very important resource for this country. It's a source of economic growth and job growth across the country, not only in the West but in Ontario and Quebec as well. It's critical to develop these resources but to do so in way that's responsible and environmental."

Moreover, he said there is a "reality" to be considered by the United States, the biggest buyer of Canadian oil.

"The reality is that Canada is a very ethical society and a very secure source of energy for the United States, compared to other sources. So that's a major asset that we want to explain to the rest of the world."

Kent, a Toronto-area MP who was previously a TV broadcaster, was appointed to the key environment portfolio on Tuesday. He was previously junior minister for foreign affairs and apparently impressed Harper with his communications skills — something he will need as the government continues to face pressure at home and abroad on the climate change issue.

Critics have said the Canadian oilsands need be cleaned up because they are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming.

In an interview with the Calgary Herald after his appointment as minister, Kent said the oilsands have been unfairly demonized.

He reiterated the pledge of his predecessor, Jim Prentice, to enhance water monitoring in northern Alberta's vast oilsands region.

But he said labels such as "dirty oil" and claims that bitumen extraction is the most destructive industrial activity on the planet are overblown.

"There has been a lot of disinformation and outright misinformation," said Kent. "There has been a demonizing of a legitimate resource . . . It is ethical oil. It is regulated oil. And it's secure oil in a world where many of the free world's oil sources are somewhat less secure."

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