Closing the gate after the horse left the barn: TransCanada fires Edelman | – Environmental Defence.
Yesterday, TransCanada fired its PR firm – Edelman, two weeks after Edelman’s strategy document for TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline was leaked to the public. That document revealed TransCanada’s plan to play dirty to quash opposition to its risky pipeline plan.
The backlash against the strategy has been huge in recent weeks, with widespreadmedia coverage on both sides of the border.
TransCanada’s attempt at damage control comes too late. The company is trying to close the gate long after the horse has left the barn.
The leaked strategy document recommended that TransCanada use seemingly unaffiliated third parties to attack citizens groups and groups like Environmental Defence who are opposed to the risky pipeline. The company has admitted to trying to dig up dirt on citizens groups to try to unearth information it could give to third parties to attack them with. The strategy also suggested creating fake ‘astroturf’ grassroots groups to give the project the appearance of public support – a tactic that Edelman used in the U.S. on behalf of cigarette companies to try to discredit the well established links between tobacco and cancer.
As you can imagine, the leaked document hasn’t helped TransCanada earn public trust. In fact, the public backlash has been overwhelming. You can’t blame Canadians for asking questions like:
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