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Of course, activists like Marx will say the oilsands pose a serious threat to the climate and also require the destruction of huge quantities of land to mine the oil. But Krause points out that there was no similar campaign to land-lock North Dakota or Texas oil, not that the American oil industry would have put up with such foreign meddling.

“We’ve been too complacent and too Canadian for too long,” Krause says. “We need to think like the Texans.”

Environmental groups have four broad goals, three of which are laudable, Krause says: to move to renewables, to promote energy efficiency and to promote energy security. “But the fourth goal is to keep Canadian oil out of the global oil market and that’s where I think we can say, ‘No.’ Because it’s not fair to bully any country out of the global market.”

Krause, an independent investigator who has averaged $40,000 a year for the last four years on speaking fees, raised $50,000 in individual donations this year to hire a Calgary law firm to look into the legality of the Tar Sands Campaign, and whether it was indeed charitable activity. She has since shared the law firm’s findings with Rachel Notley’s office.

When I ask the NDP if the government is considering Krause’s push for legal action against these U.S. foundations, cabinet spokesperson Mike McKinnon of the Ministry of Energy says: “Ms. Krause has been a tireless champion of our energy industry and we appreciate her thorough investigative work. We will continue to consider all options going forward, legal and otherwise, in our fight for market access and top dollar for our oil.”

Krause says Notley has the credibility to lead this effort. “I appreciate her approach. She’s measured. She’s firm. She’s not going to over-reach. I want a measured piece of litigation, a nice Canadian, ‘Please stop land-locking our crude.’ ”

Sounds like a plan. About 10 years too late. But still a plan.

@DavidStaplesYEG