British Columbia investigates claims energy company ‘dramatically’ influenced climate policy

British Columbia’s attorney general has called for an investigation into possible violations of provincial law after a Canadian oil and gas executive claimed the company improperly used political connections to “dramatically’’ weaken the province’s environmental policies.

In leaked audio recordings first published by the Narwhal and heard by the Guardian, the executive, Liam Iliffe, claimed that TC Energy, a Calgary-based pipeline company with operations spanning the continent, had ghostwritten ministerial briefing notes and planted employees “next to the strawberries or the romaine lettuce” at a Costco supermarket to choreograph seemingly impromptu meetings with senior bureaucrats in order to push the company’s agenda.

Iliffe, who has since resigned, was a former senior adviser to British Columbia premier John Horgan, and joined TC Energy less than a year after leaving government.

The recordings were made during two “lunch and learn” sessions attended by roughly 150 people in both February and March 2024. In them, Iliffe and other TC Energy employees can be heard making claims about the company’s efforts to influence and shape climate policy in British Columbia, with the aim of expanding its liquified natural gas operations.

In the presentation, they allege that the company had worked to shift the views of BC premier David Eby, who has over recent years appeared to soften his previously stated position that it would not be possible to continue expanding fossil-fuel infrastructure and still meet climate goals.

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“We’ve had some really remarkable results in terms of our message being repeated back to us by key decision-makers in government,” Iliffe can be heard saying.

Iliffe also suggested the company was able to “dramatically” influence the province’s recent carbon-tax rate adjustment.

More provocatively, Iliffe claimed that the company had effectively written briefing notes for provincial “ministers and premiers and prime ministers” as a way of helping “overworked and underpaid” public servants who “just want the job done for them”. Iliffe alleged the letters “get stuck on government letterhead” and sent out to elected officials. “There’s nothing more powerful than that.”

Iliffe also claimed the company strategically placed people “so they can bump into” key government figures at the airport terminals or grocery stores over the weekend. He said such an approach allowed for a “remarkable conversation” that switched between “personal and professional that advances our initiatives”.

“You’d be surprised how much work I actually get done in the cooler at Costco because I bump into a significant minister or bureaucrat that I really want to spend some time with and I can do that next to the strawberries or the romaine lettuce,” he said to laughter from the audience.

Iliffe resigned earlier this month after the Narwhal approached him and TC Energy for comment.

“My intent was to emphasize the importance of local relationships TC Energy built in support of projects and operations. However, some of the comments were made in the moment and the events and approaches I described did not actually occur,” he told the Narwhal. “As someone who served in the BC government, it would be remiss of me to suggest that anyone other than our elected representatives make decisions on behalf of British Columbians.”

A spokesperson for TC Energy said the company was “disappointed” that the recordings, which included “inaccurate comments from an employee that portray a false impression of how we do business”, were leaked to the Narwhal. The company did not specify which claims were untrue. There is no indication from the recordings that anyone from the company pushed back against Iliffe’s claims at the time.

Government officials were apparently unaware of TC Energy’s claims when the Narwhal asked about the allegations in mid-June.

In an emailed statement to the Narwhal, a spokesperson for Premier Eby’s office called Iliffe’s claims “false and defamatory”, adding that “no one could provide any evidence in support of his claims”.

The spokesperson also included a 19 June letter from BC attorney general Niki Sharma asking the Lobbying Registrar to investigate possible violations of the Lobbyists Transparency Act.

In the letter, Sharma says an internal review of the claims suggested they were “untrue” but warned there could have been instances of unrecorded lobbying activities.

Iliffe has said he left his government position in May 2022. TC Energy filings with the provincial registrar of lobbying, viewed by the Narwhal, show Iliffe listed as a lobbyist as early as April 2023. The filings did not identify Iliffe as a former public office holder.

Under the province’s rules, former public office holders must identify themselves in their filings with the registrar.

“I am aware of the requirement, but TC Energy completed my registration on my behalf and I am only learning of the error today,” Iliffe said an emailed response.