On a personal note, it was a disappointing shock to learn of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s rage tweet yesterday morning blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the $2.5-million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant to the Corporate Mapping Project that was awarded on former prime minister Stephen Harper’s watch in 2015.
“Why did the Trudeau Liberals give $2.5 million to a left-wing special interest group to attack our energy industry?” Premier Kenney screeched, linking to a freebie article handed over to the Toronto Sun by a couple of Canadian Taxpayers Federation agitators. The SSHRC, for some reason, is a particular bee in the CTF’s bonnet.
The CTF op-ed noted the academic study managed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (and Edmonton’s Parkland Institute, it must also be noted) “lists about 100 people as advisors and collaborators, mostly from unions and academic institutions. (Full disclosure: I am one of those people, although I can’t recall at the moment if I’m a collaborator or an advisor.)
It should also be added that Mr. Kenney, a former CEO of the CTF, was a senior member of Mr. Harper’s cabinet when this deed was done, and Jack Mintz, the Harperites’ favourite economist, was vice-president and chair of the SSHRC’s governing council.
If you were thinking Mr. Harper and Dr. Mintz might now be called to account by Mr. Kenney’s War Room, don’t hold your breath. After a few hours, and several responses pointing out the embarrassing facts, Mr. Kenney’s tweet disappeared down the Memory Hole.
I was disappointed, of course, because over the past four years I have reported on at least three occasions on this blog that the SSHRC grant supporting a study exposing the fossil fuel industry to some much-needed sunlight was awarded while Mr. Harper was prime minister, a development that I observed when it happened with dumbfounded incredulity. My theory at the time was that some functionary in Mr. Harper’s office must have seen “corporate mapping project,” concluded, “that sounds like a good idea,” and read no further before stamping it “APPROVED!” Either that, or the SSHRC really is independent.
Regardless, this would appear to mean Mr. Kenney isn’t racing to read AlbertaPolitics.ca every morning before he flips open his copy of the more sympathetic National Post.
To be completely honest, given the great work the CMP has been doing, I am astounded it has taken this long for the CTF and their former CEO to start trying to discredit it.
Speaking of the CTF and Twitter, I was also astounded to read the tweet yesterday by the group’s federal director, Aaron Wudrick, in which he asked, “How bad is the Flames’ arena deal?” and answered, “So bad that I’m 100% with @djclimenhaga on this one.”
Say what?
I believe Mr. Wudrick will come to deeply regret that tweet, especially after he reads all the way to the bottom of my post.
One problem with “war” rooms, is when the big weapons get in the hands of the clumsy or inept, they might shoot themselves in the foot instead or worse.
So if you happen to see the usually more sure footed Kenney limping around Edmonton a bit, or more likely just keeping a very low profile for a few days, you can bet he is licking his self inflicted wounds.
It is also one of the hazards when you start to believe your own side’s propaganda that everything you think is bad is Trudeau’s fault. Tweet first, think and regret later, at your own peril, even for the more normally adept rabid partisans like Mr. Kenney.
So it appears Kenney’s tweet was captured on the Global “news” site, likely others as well. Now we wait for the rage machine to start the articles and tweets about Trudeau paying off the media with tax dollars for better coverage. I don’t think Kenney is smart enough to plan this but watch the spin.
How many of Jason Kenney’s twitter followers still believe the corporate mapping project is Justin Trudeau’s fault?