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Powerful oil sands group to lobby US; uses same firm as AB Govt

Canada’s largest oil industry association has retained a high-powered law firm to lobby the U.S. government, the same firm representing the province of Alberta.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which advocates on behalf of more than 130 oil and gas companies across the country, including all the top oil sands players, will be represented in Washington, DC, by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

The firm’s partners include David Wilkins, former U.S. ambassador to Canada under George W. Bush.

“Our role is to advocate for Canadian energy and hopefully create a very positive environment for the Canadian oil-and-gas industry here in the United States,” Wilkins told The Hill, a publication read by Beltway insiders.

Wilkins’ firm is also representing the Alberta government on energy issues, among others. Records show Albertan taxpayers paid $188,915 for the services last year.

“Shouldn’t we at least pretend there’s some divergence on environmental policy between the Alberta government and the oil sands industry,” Greenpeace Canada’s Keith Stewart told the Tyee.

CAPP has a keen interest in repealing Section 526, a Bush-era clean energy law that could one day set a precedent for blocking imports of oil sands crude, Wilkins said.

The Alberta government is also keeping a close eye on the legislation. A list of contractual duties in another active lobbying contract, this one signed with PD Frazer Consulting, includes: “Provide advice for dealing with initiatives that could impact our interests (eg. the next Section 526).”

The Tyee reported from Washington, DC, last March on the years-long alliance between Canadian politicians and oil sands industry players, aimed squarely at repealing Section 526.

Republican congressmen in both the U.S. House and Senate are currently trying to kill the law.

Geoff Dembicki reports for the Tyee.

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