CALGARY—Former National Post columnist Claudia Cattaneo has been hired to draft a plan of attack for the Alberta government’s Fight Back Strategy.

In a statement Thursday, the United Conservative government said Cattaneo had been hired to develop a strategic plan for its pushback strategy against critics of Alberta’s oil and gas industry. Her plan will be presented to officials in early fall.

“Reporting the truth about the energy industry was at the centre of Claudia’s distinguished career,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage in the statement. “She is uniquely qualified to help us take action. I look forward to receiving her insights and benefiting from her years of experience.”

Cattaneo retired as the National Post’s Western Canada business columnist in May 2018. She once worked as the Financial Post’s Calgary bureau chief with a focus on energy issues, and also reported for the Calgary Herald, the Montreal Gazette, and the Toronto Star. Her work earned her a citation of merit from the National Newspaper Awards for her 2015 coverage of the global oil price collapse, and a Best of Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2017.

In a May 15, 2018 column announcing her retirement, Cattaneo said the reputations of oil and gas reporters are constantly under attack by activists “who’d rather see fair industry coverage suppressed,” while companies become increasingly opaque in their operations.

“It’s all left readers begging once again for credible and independent reporting on energy, whether about the safety of pipelines or carbon emissions, as political leaders make important decisions about the sector’s future,” she wrote.

The provincial government is setting aside $30 million to set up an Energy War Room — run by public servants — to combat criticism of the province’s oil and gas industry on social media, in op-eds, and by other media sources. In July, Premier Jason Kenney also announced the start of a public inquiry into foreign-funded groups engaged in what he described as a “campaign of defamation” against Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

Alberta Energy spokesperson Charles Mainville says Cattaneo’s contract is for three months and covers the Fight Back Strategy as a whole, not just the war room.

Experts have warned the strategy needs to offer information to those who might be willing to change their minds about oil and gas — rather than simply offer an outlet for people to vent their frustration.

However, Savage’s statement on Thursday suggested the government’s strategy would be an aggressive, no-holds-barred challenge to what they described as falsehoods about oil and gas.

“This plan will reset the record and loudly tell the world, ‘Alberta is back’ — and respond, in real time, to the misinformation being spread about the industry,” her statement said.

“How will we do this? By challenging. One word at a time, one fact at a time, and one truth at a time. The lies end now.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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