After being denied a water permit by the Alberta government in May 2008 for its Kearl tar sands project, Imperial Oil – 69.6% owned by ExxonMobil – claimed the delay would cost the corporation through representation by Fraser, Milner Casgrain LLP.

“The effect for my client is profound,” said Fraser lawyer Munaf Mohamed, representing Imperial/ExxonMobil. “It took nine months to get this piece of paper. What is significant to the sting of the lash? If we can’t commit the (permit) now, (the project) gets pushed out a year or more.”

Production of 110,000 barrels per day of tar sands officially began for the Kearl Oil Sands Project in April 2013. Imperial and Exxon have big plans in the months and years ahead for the Project.

“Kearl is a historic development for Imperial,” Rich Kruger, Imperial Oil chairman and CEO stated in a press release. “Kearl is the largest project we’ve ever undertaken and the beginning of a period of substantial growth for the company that will see us double production to more than 600,000 barrels per day by about 2020.”

Deering‘s Clientele, Denton’s Lobbying Record, Climate Change Denial

According to her biographical sketch on the Denton website, Jordan R.M. Deering served as “Counsel to BP Canada in connection with its US$1.67 billion agreement to sell its Canadian natural gas liquids business to Plains Midstream Canada.”

Fraser Milner Casgrain itself has lobbied on behalf of Syncrude Canada, Nexen, Enbridge, ExxonMobil and BP according to Canada’s federal lobby registry.

Court records also show Fraser Milner Casgrain represented infamous climate change denier Timothy Ball in his high-profile defamation case against University of Lethbridge Professor Dan Johnson and The Calgary Herald.

Cobb and Damanskis React

Cobb and Damanskis told DeSmog they’re not surprised about the cozy relationship between Denton, the Alberta government and Big Oil.

“I’m not sure ‘surprised’ is the term I would use to describe my reaction, there’s not much these guys can do that will surprise us,” said Cobb. “Given the breadth and magnitude of BS that the industry has kicked up to obscure their activities, it’s hard to know what would be surprising. These sorts of shenanigans seem more expected than unusual.”

Damanskis, in the meantime, has filed a counterclaim with YouTube, a process that takes 10-14 days for review.

“We haven’t broken any laws, so this really just comes down to intimidation,” Damanskis said. “They want to silence us the same way they’re trying to silence public comment on pipeline hearings.”

“They obviously must feel like we pose a threat to them if they’re trying to silence us before we even get to Alberta. We don’t even have a product to release yet and at this point we’re just two guys with an idea that could change public discussion about the tar sands.”

Regardless of the muzzling efforts, Cobb says the duo won’t be fleeing the scene anytime soon and that they feel emboldened by the fall-out.

“We’re going to continue to produce video and develop the documentary. We’re not afraid of them, and we’re just getting started on the topic,” he explained. “A little intimidation won’t affect our plans and we will publicize our campaign far and wide.”