I am writing in response to your article entitled, “How This B.C. Activist Became the Oil Industry’s Number One Enemy” published in “Chatelaine” on “March 15, 2019”.
Thank you for writing your article and continuing to keep attention on the oil and gas sector. I am taking this opportunity to open the door to a constructive, respectful conversation about Canadian energy, particularly oil and gas. I hope that you’ll take this opportunity to engage with me too.
I am a female oil and gas employee, proudly working for an Alberta-based natural gas producer. I lead the Joint Venture contracts team, working daily to ensure that my company’s products become usable to ordinary consumers who need them, and that demand is growing. This is why I take exception to the article on Tzeporah Berman, a person who has repeatedly spread misinformation and disinformation for her own personal gain and fame.
I am writing to ask you to consider broadening your reporting on the oil and gas sector by speaking with women who work in it, and who have expertise and experience to be able to provide honest insight into the industry. In addition to myself, I have many female colleagues that I could put you in touch with, including:
· my company’s Surface Land Director who makes sure that we follow strict environmental regulations and respect Indigenous cultures and rights when we are on their land
· two geologists who can help understand the earth and climate change
· an instructor at a technical school who teaches the younger generation about oil and gas
· a production and development engineer who works to minimize our land footprint every day
The notion that we’re good people “caught in bad systems” is offensive and off base. It suggest that we are not intelligent enough to make our own conscious decisions and that Tzeporah is somehow morally above us; it’s preposterous and inaccurate.
The industry is not perfect. We recognize this, but we try very hard to keep innovating and improving, and we often succeed at being the best in the world. The entire Canadian industry is continually striving for improvements.
Consider this, Canada ranks higher than any of the top 10 oil exporting nations in the world on:
Environmental Performance Index (#25)
Women, Peace & Security Index (#7)
Democracy Index (#6)
Social Progress Index (#14)
Press Freedom Index (#18)
I don’t know about you, but I prefer to get my oil and gas from a country with the highest ethical and environmental standards in the world, so when people like Tzeporah Berman spread misinformation and use illegal or unethical methods to stop or delay the building of infrastructure in Canada, it isn’t good for anyone, certainly not the planet. Promoting her only gives her undeserved credibility.
Canada currently has a reputation on the world stage for not being able to get things done. Through balanced, honest reporting from your magazine, we can change people’s perceptions and become a country that can develop our resources responsibly and sustainably and be a world leader once again.
Sincerely,
Deidra Garyk
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