The Canadian government spent public money on a public relations campaign to support tar sands operations, according to documents uncovered by a freedom of information request. According to the Guardian's coverage of the scandal, Canada's 2013 budget saw investments of $30 million over two years on advertising and "outreach activities." Outreach activities were not publicly disclosed and cost $4.5 million, and they included efforts to "advance energy literacy amongst BC First Nations communities."
Essentially, the Canadian government used public money in an attempt to soften opposition among First Nations communities that were fighting the construction of pipelines on their lands. At the same time, the government also used public money to lobby the European Union to try and block a measure that would limit the export of Canada's tar sands. Canada also ran an ad campaign to solicit support in the US, Europe and Asia.
Meanwhile, fossil fuel interests in the US are also attempting to influence the public discourse, this time by exploiting minorities. Media Matters' Cristina Lopez debunks a Washington Times story that relied on fossil-fuel-funded voices to claim that the EPA's Clean Power Plan "faces opposition from black [and] Hispanic leaders." Lopez linked to three different polls indicating exactly the opposite of what the story claimed. She then collected quotes from ten different voices representing a variety of minority groups in support of the EPA's plan.
In Canada, taxpayers and First Nations communities are exploited to fund pro-tar sands "outreach." In the US, people of color are exploited to serve polluters' attacks on the EPA.
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