Stelmach steamed after Alberta funds help finance anti-oilsands film
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach
Premier Ed Stelmach said he's upset that nearly $55,000 in provincial taxpayers' dollars went to help fund the production of an anti-oilsands film titled Dirty Oil.
The film, which is narrated by Canadian actress Neve Campbell and set to be screened later this month at the Calgary International Film Festival, is critical of the environmental impact of oilsands development on land, air and water.
The producers of the film received a provincial grant from the Alberta Multimedia Development Fund of nearly $55,000 - about 19 per cent of the total $288,000 spent on production in Alberta - after meeting all the necessary criteria.
Stelmach said Wednesday he's as livid as any other Albertan that taxpayer dollars are helping fund a film that attacks the province and its oilsands, the second-largest proven oil reserves in the world. But he doesn't want to see Alberta get in the business of censoring films and freedom of speech.
"I'm just as upset as other taxpayers that money coming from taxpayers was used to fund a film that was in many cases anti-Alberta and anti-oilsands," he said. "On the flip side, though, there's this whole question of censorship."
He noted there are rules in place about how films qualify for the grant dollars, and explained Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett is in the midst of reviewing the program and its criteria.
The documentary Dirty Oil, directed by former Academy Award-nominee Leslie Iwerks, debuted in March in the United Kingdom and is scheduled to be screened Sept. 25 at the Calgary International Film Festival.
jfekete@theherald.canwest.com
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