Spying by AEUB to be investigated, Premier Ed Stelmach reverses energy minister’s position that using private detectives was OK by Archie McLean and Jim Farrell, July 4, 2007, The Edmonton Journal
The energy minister will oversee an investigation of the Alberta Energy and Utility Board’s hiring of private investigators to spy on landowners opposed to a planned power line, Premier Ed Stelmach announced Tuesday. Stelmach characterized the investigation as a means of rebuilding trust in the public body by getting to the truth. A representative of the landowners says it will be a whitewash. … The move is a reversal from last week, when Energy Minister Mel Knight essentially declared the file closed after speaking with AEUB chairman Brad McManus. … “If this were a play, your producer would send you back to the drawing board because this comedy just doesn’t sell,” said Joe Anglin of the Lavesta Group. … “This is ludicrous,” he said of the energy minister’s forthcoming investigation. “Mel Knight is a party to the problem. To say he could investigate himself is beyond cynical.”