The Oil Sands Alliance, formerly the Pathways Alliance, is a group of major companies producing oil from the Alberta oilsands.
Photo: Jeff McIntosh / The Narwhal
Have you heard of the Mandela Effect? It’s a concept (conspiracy theory), based on the idea that people remember something to be true, really believe it, but discover that it’s not. It gets its name from people who swear Nelson Mandela died in prison in South Africa in the ’80s, rather than as a free man in 2013. Other examples of the Mandela Effect involve the cornucopia in the Fruit of the Loom logo and the Monopoly Man’s monocle (neither of which exist).
The reason I mention it is because I had an uneasy feeling that I was experiencing the Mandela Effect when Alberta and Ottawa finalized a memorandum of understanding that could reduce oilsands emissions and pave the way for a new pipeline to the West Coast.
How are those emissions going to be cut? With another pipeline … that transports carbon released into the air from oilsands operations. It’s a carbon capture project that the Oil Sands Alliance has been promoting for many years, and the agreement mentions it, too: capturing 16 megatonnes of carbon per year by 2045 and injecting it deep into the earth.
Wait, 16? That can’t be right? I swear …
Fortunately, a quick search confirmed that my mental instability remains more firmly in the “fun” or “interesting” column, and not in the “completely detached from modern reality” category. (Don’t fact-check this assertion with my partner.)
You see, way back in 2021, and as recently as last year, governments and the companies behind a pitch to capture carbon in the oilsands pledged to sequester 68 megatonnes of emissions — more than four times higher than the current target.
The original promise wasn’t exactly a figure that was kept quiet. The Oil Sands Alliance talked it up in countless news releases, editorials and widespread advertising campaigns. The government was boasting about it too, in a presentation to U.S. lawmakers just six months ago.
I dug into the discrepancy in a story this week, exploring why the figures changed so dramatically — and so quietly. The Oil Sands Alliance, which will build the carbon capture project, didn’t respond to questions, but some experts did.
Patrick McCurdy, a professor of communications, told me it was part of a pattern of greenwashing by oil companies — making claims they won’t live up to, walking back yardsticks, and essentially getting the social licence to keep extracting oil.
“They have that now with [Prime Minister Mark] Carney,” McCurdy said.
Now that it’s panned out, the vision of a net-zero oilsands has all but disappeared.
Amber Bracken and The Narwhal will return to a Vancouver courtroom on June 8 for the final chapter of our press freedom trial against the RCMP. Over two weeks, we and other parties in the case will give our final arguments to the B.C. Supreme Court. After that, we’ll wait for a ruling.
Through this case, we hope to clear a path for all journalists in Canada to do their work without risk of police interference. Your support made it possible — a huge thanks to everyone who donated to our legal fund, sent words of encouragement and offered Vancouver accommodations to get us through this last leg.
Visit this page for more information, including on how to attend the trial in person if you’re in Vancouver and would like to be there.
Parks drama is back in season
The partnership, at least in the beginning, seemed harmonious. One of British Columbia’s most iconic parks, Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park, had seen skyrocketing visitor numbers; BC Parks and the Líl̓wat and N’Quatqua First Nations agreed to work together on a management plan that would balance competing interests of access, conservation and Indigenous Rights.
In 2023, they jointly announced reconnection periods, temporary closures during which only members of the two nations could visit the park, and the land could pause for a moment to rest. Last year, these closures collided with the recent backlash against Indigenous Rights, and BC Parks unilaterally cut the fall reconnection period in half.
Reconciliation, it seems, is not on the horizon: when BC Parks announced the 2026 closures last month, it triggered what B.C. MLA Jeremy Valeriote called “an unspeakable amount of online racism.”
Meanwhile, Líl̓wat has posted their own closure dates, saying the ministry once again made unilateral decisions. No one is happy — and the conflict raises difficult questions about how to balance reconciliation and conservation with access to these beloved spaces. Read the latest in the saga on our website.
This week in The Narwhal
In New Brunswick, residents battle the government over a planned AI data centre By Moira Donovan
The proposed data centre in Lorneville, N.B., would raze wetlands and old-growth forest. Its on-site gas plant and additional demand on the power grid would make it one of the province’s largest emitters.
Federal government assessing threats to piping plovers in Wasaga Beach By Fatima Syed and Will Pearson READ MORE
Natural gas companies lobbied against Canada’s latest plan to reduce household emissions: documents By Carl Meyer READ MORE
The Squamish Nation just opened one of the world's largest net-zero housing developments By Santana Dreaver READ MORE
Canada’s LNG deal with Germany has major climate, economic implications By Matt Simmons READ MORE
Environment advocates call for end to military use, new mining in provincial park scorched by 2025 wildfire By Julia-Simone Rutgers READ MORE
When oil and gas companies change their tune ... and you’ve got the receipts to prove it. The Narwhal’s investigative reporters keep tabs on Canada’s big emitters; you can help by becoming a member today!
