One of the premier's most vocal right-wing backers appears to be lobbying the government about carbon capture and storage laws for a firm whose parent company is a major greenhouse gas producer in British Columbia.
Carbon capture and storage projects are meant to stop those gases from being released into the atmosphere by storing them underground. But they've also been the subject of criticism by environmentalists because of questions surrounding their cost and effectiveness, as well as the potential health and safety risks associated with them.
On June 16, former federal Conservative House leader Jay Hill registered to contact elected officials about setting up a "workable" framework for those projects on behalf of Westcoast Energy Inc., a top donor to Christy Clark's successful Liberal leadership campaign.
Its parent company - Houston, Tex.-based Spectra Energy Corp. - has been angling to build a carbon capture and storage facility near its Fort Nelson gas plant, which belched out more than a million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2009.
A government spokesperson said there aren't presently any legal barriers to building those facilities, which could theoretically qualify for funding from the Province's Pacific Carbon Trust.
But the spokesperson confirmed the government is working on policies that will address some of the "special issues" related to those projects, including their "long-term stewardship and liability."
Indeed, liability - including who is responsible for the sequestered gases and for how long - is one of the biggest issues for companies that are eyeing carbon capture and storage facilities.
According to the government, that policy work is proceeding as Spectra continues to investigate the feasibility of its proposed Fort Nelson project - a study that is being funded by a $3.4 million grant from the Province.
But that support pales in comparison to the $2 billion fund Alberta created in 2008 to subsidize the construction of such facilities. The money has since been allocated to companies like Shell Canada Ltd., Chevron Canada Ltd., TransAlta Corp. and Enbridge Inc.
Officials with Spectra and Westcoast, which donated $20,500 to Clark's successful leadership campaign on March 1, didn't respond to repeated requests for comment on Hill's lobbying.
According to the lobbyists registry, that activity began on Jan. 4.
Hill, who served as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government House leader and chief whip before stepping down from national politics in August 2010, also didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.
But Hill hasn't been shy about speaking to the media regarding his support for Clark when questions were being raised about whether someone with federal Tory credentials could keep the centre-right B.C. Liberal coalition together.
Invited by the premier to her swearing-in ceremony in Victoria, Hill - who now lives in Calgary and operates under the company name Hon. Jay Hill Consulting Inc. - told reporters, "I think she's going to do a great job."
Hill has also criticized his former caucus colleague John Cummins for taking over the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives - a move that could split the province's right-wing vote.
Cummins later dismissed that criticism back in April in an interview on a Victoria radio station, stating, "I guess that's what you'd expect a lobbyist to say who may be looking to get some government money at this point."
At the time, Hill wasn't signed up to represent anyone in British Columbia. But, two months later, Hill - who is barred from lobbying at the federal level until 2015 under a law introduced by the Harper government - signed up to represent Westcoast.
Sean Holman is editor of the online provincial political news journal Public Eye (publiceyeonline.com). He can be reached at [email protected].
