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EDMONTON — The Alberta government has opened a new offensive in the fight against oilsands critics, announcing on Thursday a public inquiry into the finances of environmental organizations, specifically on funding from foreign donors, a bugbear of Jason Kenney’s government.

Such a move raises the stakes for environmental groups that could now be compelled to testify before the inquiry and face as yet unknown consequences — perhaps lawsuits, Kenney speculated — once the commissioner reports back to the legislature.

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“For more than a decade, Alberta has been the target of a well-funded political propaganda campaign to defame our energy industry and to landlock our resources,” Kenney told reporters in Calgary in announcing the inquiry.

The United Conservatives have long promised a “fight back strategy” aimed at shellacking the critics of Alberta’s energy industry and supporting those who want to bolster it. So far, the plan has consisted of creating a war room to counter “misinformation” and using a litigation fund to support the legal battles of pro-energy industry Indigenous groups.