EDMONTON—The Alberta government’s new war room, recently named the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), will be a private entity owned by the province and not subject to freedom of information laws after all, a spokesperson clarified Thursday.

In a press conference the day before, Minister of Energy Sonya Savage told reporters that the body would be open to requests under Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP).

FOIP allows journalists and members of the public to ask for documents, specific communications and certain other information about public bodies or organizations.

However, Christine Myatt, press secretary to the premier, sent a statement to reporters Thursday saying that the minister “was not sufficiently clear regarding FOIP legislation’s applicability to the CEC.”

“The CEC’s internal operations are not subject to FOIP, as this would provide a tactical and/or strategic advantage to the very foreign-funded special interests the CEC is looking to counter,” wrote Myatt. “For example, we would not let those foreign-funded special interests seeking to attack our province see our detailed defence plans.”

During the election campaign, and up until recently, the centre has been known as the “Energy War Room” — mandated with combating what the Alberta government sees as misinformation about the oil and gas industry in social and traditional media. The Alberta government accepts the controversial theory that a foreign funded campaign of misinformation has been deployed in Canada specifically to landlock Alberta oil — hamstringing the economy.

Critics suggest it is the stuff of conspiracy theories and the Opposition NDP say the war room doesn’t do anything to help get Albertans back to work.

Sean Holman, an associate professor of journalism at Mount Royal University and a freedom of information law expert, said the operation not being subject to freedom of information is “absolutely outrageous.”

“For an operation that could fundamentally threaten freedom of expression in this province, it is another indication that this government is offside with democratic norms and how we would expect an elected government to operate,” he said during an interview on Thursday.

“It should be of concern to anyone who cares about democracy, and the preservation of the rights and freedoms for a functioning democratic society.”

While any kind of information travelling between the CEC and the government is still subject to freedom of information requests, the internal operations of the corporation itself would not be, Myatt said.

The corporation would still be subject to an audit by the Auditor General, the whistle blower’s act and the Personal Information Protection Act, she added.

The CEC’s budget is set by the province at $30 million and will be managed by former Calgary Herald journalist Tom Olsen, who also served as a government press secretary under Ed Stelmach’s government.

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While it has been incorporated under the Business Corporations Act, the energy centre is considered a provincial corporation and will be overseen by a board of three cabinet ministers: Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, Environment Minister Jason Nixon and Savage.

The United Conservative government has also launched a $2.5 million public inquiry into the allegations of a foreign funded campaign to landlock Alberta energy resources.

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