[1] Premier Kenney, whose United Conservative Party (UCP) had won a majority of seats in the 2019 Alberta general election,[2][3] announced the creation of the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), a Calgary-based, $30-million 'war room' to "fight misinformation related to oil and gas," on the same day as the creation of the inquiry—to fulfill election campaign promises.
They stated the inquiry had ultimately found there was “nothing improper about the environmental campaigns it was ostensibly investigating.” Nutritionist Vivian Krause reacted with shock and tried to distance herself from her own research, for which she was paid CA$40,000.
In his final 657-page report—submitted to the Energy Minister on July 30, 2021, and was released to the public on October 21, 2021[5]—Commissioner Allan found that no individual or organization had done anything illegal in their anti-Alberta resource development activities, and that they had exercised their right to free speech.
[5]: 596 Of the $54.1-million devoted to those activities from 2003 to 2019, Allan could not find a direct correlation to the decreased investment in Alberta's oil and gas industries and the environmental activists.
[7] According to the Edmonton Journal, Commissioner Allan recommended that the Alberta government, "update transparency standards for non-profits and charities, engage in dialogue with First Nations communities to explore economic development opportunities", "work to re-brand Canadian energy with a strategy "built on a vision of being a global leader in lower carbon energy and climate solutions", and "better report greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta.
"[12][11] Alberta Premier Jason Kenny's commissioned the Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns on July 4, 2019, with a mandate to investigate foreign-funded efforts to undermine the oil and gas industry.
[1] Kenney had announced the creation of the public inquiry along with the "Energy War Room" in a release by the UCP party during his election campaign.
He cited "the intrepid reporting of journalist Vivian Krause," who has spent ten years examining foreign funding of Canadian environmental non-profit organizations (ENGOs).
Domestic Energy Markets by Exploiting Social Media" from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology" said that over "4,000 social-media accounts linked to Russian entities were engaged in inflaming online debates over pipelines, fossil fuels, and climate change".
"[15] Minister Schweitzer appointed a forensic accountant, Steve Allan,[1] as commissioner of the Public Inquiry, which is tasked with investigating foreign-funded efforts to undermine the oil and gas industry.
"[18] In July 2019, shortly after his appointment as chair of the Public Inquiry, Allan had awarded a $905,000 sole-source contract for the inquiry to the Calgary law firm, Dentons Canada LLP, where he was a former partner, and where, Toby Allen, Allan's son is a "partner and his good friend, Quincy Smith, also works", according to the Canadian Press (CP), and other media sources.
[19][20] In her ruling Trussler said, "It does stretch credibility that Mr. Allan did not consider whether or not there may possibly be a conflict of interest in his engaging of Dentons as counsel for the inquiry, given that, for all intents and purposes, the firm gave him free office space and both his close friend (although that alone is not significant) and his son were partners at the firm...[However], [n]either the minister, his children, nor his direct associates had any personal or particular interest in, or anything to gain from, the appointment of Mr. Allan as inquiry commissioner".
"[29]: 98 Nemeth is critical of the way in which the Canadian federal government, academics, NGOs—and the foundations that fund them—use the "rationale of climate change" to nurture this "new global paradigm".
"[21] According to CBC, "[i]ndependent experts have excoriated the reports for being based on junk climate-denial science, bizarre conspiracy theories and oil-industry propaganda.
[34] The Nemeth report, that was funded and commissioned by the inquiry, had quoted The Spectator columnist, James Delingpole—known for his promotion of conspiracy theories such as the Great Reset[35][34]—saying that this current generation of Greenpeace and the environmental movement, represent a "new breed of zealots less interested in saving Planet Earth than in destroying the capitalist system.
[36] At the end of October, UCP cabinet statement, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage granted a 3-month extension for the Allan Inquiry's final report with a new deadline of January 31, 2021.
[37] A January 29, 2021 UCP cabinet statement granted Commissioner Allan four more months, its third deadline extension "to ensure he is able to complete a comprehensive investigation into a possible well-funded foreign campaign aimed at discrediting the province's energy sector.
"[38] The commission's final report "into whether foreign money is bankrolling campaigns to besmirch the reputation of Alberta oil and gas products" is due on May 31, 2021.
[38] In September 2019, Vancouver-based Ecojustice issued a letter of warning of potential legal challenge to commissioner Allan asking for a response within 30 days.
"[43] The Ecojustice "lawsuit also alleges that inquiry commissioner Steve Allan was a donor to the UCP leadership campaign of Doug Schweitzer, now Alberta’s justice minister, who appointed him to the job.