By Brian Zinchuk, Pipeline News
Craig Lothian is not quiet on social media when it comes to oil and gas.
With a Twitter handle of @ECraigLothian, the managing partner with Lex Capital Management has gotten into more than a few Twitter wars over the years.
Asked about the recent rallies and convoys in oilpatch communities, he said, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great. We鈥檙e finally waking up. We, as an industry, and CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers), as our biggest representative of the industry, we鈥檝e done a horrible job representing ourselves. We鈥檝e given up the narrative to the ecoterrorists and the climate alarmists and we try to ignore it. I think, as an industry, we thought if they鈥檙e saying we鈥檙e dirty, and if I say anything, they鈥檙e going to target me, so we鈥檝e been afraid to speak up.
鈥淎nybody who follows me on Twitter knows that I鈥檓 prepared to speak up and challenge some of the doctrine that鈥檚 out there right now. But it鈥檚 a very risky endeavour. If you want to be pro oil on social media, you better be thick-skinned as well.
鈥淵ou say two things in favour of the Canadian energy industry, you鈥檙e going to get 50 to 100 nutjobs coming out and telling you how you鈥檙e ruining the planet and killing baby whales.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see the industry has kind of awakened finally.鈥�
Lothian, along with Lex Capital CEO Dean Popil, have been trying to get a meeting with Ralph Goodale, Saskatchewan鈥檚 only Liberal member of parliament (and cabinet minister) to explain how important it is that the energy sector be well capitalized, and that the industry cannot grow without that capital. He said, 鈥淭he biggest impediment to that capital is government policy. It鈥檚 policy and the narrative around that, how they鈥檙e delivering it. We wanted to be able to tell him that, in the hope he鈥檇 be able to exert some influence over the government as a cabinet minister.鈥�
Lothian wasn鈥檛 successful at getting a meeting, but he has spoken to Goodale at a social event. Then, Lothian recalled, he warned Goodale of ignoring populist movements like the Yellow Vests in France, whom Lothian said of the French, 鈥渁ren鈥檛 exactly warmongers.鈥�
鈥淵ou need to be a little bit wary of ignoring the populist movement that could develop around this. It鈥檚 going to start with the industry, with convoys, with people speaking out against what they鈥檝e done to the Canadian energy industry; the people out of work unemployed and under employed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to grow from there when people start to realize that the oil industry is more than 10 per cent of the GDP of the country. And if you start removing that, from the Canadian economy, it鈥檚 going to have an impact on everyone. It鈥檚 going to hurt people everywhere.鈥�
鈥淚t could be a very significant movement going forward, and I hope it steamrolls towards the 2019 federal election,鈥� Lothian said.
Editor鈥檚 note: Lothian grew up and attended school in Carlyle.
