A separatist leader in Alberta, Canada, has denied offering U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration access to the oil-rich province’s natural resources in exchange for support for independence. The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) is facing scrutiny for three meetings it had with U.S.
State Department officials last year, after an investigation by Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail alleged that they were used to offer oil royalty payments, fresh water supplies and land access for a railway to Alaska in return for backing. APP Chief Executive Officer Mitch Sylvestre told Newsweek that “none of this was ever discussed there. We're not in power, we're not elected, we can't do anything, we can't make deals, nor should we be able to make deals.” Sylvestre said the alleged offer was not discussed at the meeting he attended—on September 29, the second of three—after one on April 22 and before another on December 16.
The Globe cited APP co-founder Dr. Dennis Modry for its claims, reporting that Modry said the group delivered a document that outlined “the potential benefits of Alberta sovereignty to the United States of America and to Alberta.” Jeff Rath, a lawyer for the group, has also denied Modry’s account, calling it “delusional.” Several Canadian members of Parliament (MPs) have since voiced concerns about the report, with New Democratic Party MP Heather McPherson calling for an emergency debate over what she described as a “serious threat to our democracy and our sovereignty” at least twice. It comes just 10 days before Alberta is set to hold a referendum on independence.
While it will not automatically trigger secession, it will ask Albertans whether to begin the process by holding a binding referendum. The Globe’s report is one of several reasons there have been calls for a formal inquiry into whether foreign interference has taken place, including from nonprofit advocacy group Public Interest Alberta, which said campaigners “appear to have been colluding with American operatives.” Sylvestre was not able to tell Newsweek what was discussed at the meetings but said that he “absolutely knows” a natural resource deal was not offered. Asked about the September meeting he attended, he said: “Nothing stands out as anything that I would remember or what we should have to talk about and that’s obviously the reason I didn’t go back.
Sylvestre said he is “totally puzzled” by the claims made by Modry, whom Sylvestre said had left the organization, after a civil court case found last year that he had misappropriated 1.3 million Canadian dollars from his elderly aunt and uncle, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Modry was “asked to go to the meetings [with U.S. officials] as one of the original members,” Sylvestre said, adding that Modry “understands that he has no power” to make a deal over Alberta’s resources. Asked about the document cited by The Globe, Sylvestre said Modry “wrote papers on the benefits of Albertan independence for sure” but did not say whether they were related to America and denies they would have been presented to officials as part of any proposal.
Sylvestre said he has not spoken to Modry since the report came out, but Rath had. Rath said Modry denied characterizing the meetings in the way The Globe reported, saying: “Don’t believe everything the mainstream media says,” according to Sylvestre. Newsweek has contacted Rath and the APP on behalf of Modry via email for comment.
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