Telus takes heat for backing carbon plan

Telus Corp. issued an apology Wednesday after a Tuesday night social media post linking the company to support for the federal government’s recently announced carbon-pricing plan generated backlash online. “Our carbon pricing tweet late yesterday was not meant to be partisan or political, but we know it appeared that way, and we’re sorry,” the company posted to its Twitter Inc. account shortly after noon. More than three hours later, Telus was still responding and just before 4 p.m. tweeted: “We take your input very seriously and your feedback will inform our sustainability policies and initiatives going forward.” The original tweet that set off the firestorm said: “As a founding member of @smartprosperity, we support @JustinTrudeau and @cathmckenna in putting a #PriceOnCarbon,” and included a link to a joint statement signed by 21 Canadian business leaders, including Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle. Smart Prosperity, described on its website as a “new initiative launched by respected leaders to harness new thinking for Canada’s environment and the economy,” was established in the spring. Other companies and organizations affiliated with the group include Shell Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Desjardins Group, the Broadbent Institute, the World Wildlife Federation, United Steel workers, and Loblaw Companies Ltd. “Telus supports putting a price on carbon to help spur clean growth and clean technology innovation,” Andrea Goertz, Telus’ senior vice-president of strategic initiatives, chief communications and sustainability officer, said in a statement on the Smart Prosperity site. On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his government’s plan to institute an escalating price on carbon emissions beginning in 2018, unless provinces enact their own carbon price or cap-and-trade system. Support for the plan has been less than forthcoming among the right side of the political spectrum and in the energy-production-dependent regions of Central and Western Canada where Telus has its customer base. The original tweet on Tuesday night generated countless replies, with many condemning Telus for its message and announcing their intention to stop being a customer of the company. “Obviously @Telus thinks the money I spend on their services would be better spent by Trudeau. Bye Telus. #cdnpoli #abpoli #PriceOnTelus,” one user tweeted. “Well @Telus after 15 years with you this nonsense of supporting #carbontax @JustinTrudeau has me looking elsewhere. It’s been a slice,” said another. Brian Jean, Alberta’s Wildrose Party leader, also responded to the initial tweet with one of his own saying: “I’m sure the 63% of your Alberta customers who don’t want a carbon tax disagree #ableg.” Calgary-area MP Michelle Rempel raised the issue in the House of Commons Wednesday afternoon, saying that corporate advocacy, when done correctly, is a good thing. “Then there are times when it goes wrong. Instead of tweeting support for environmental action or something issues-based, Telus issued a partisan tweet to the Prime Minister and to the environment minister, supporting their tax announcement,” Rempel said, according to a transcript. Telus’ customers are the ones who are going to pay for any increased costs to businesses stemming from a carbon tax, she said, and those out of work in Alberta will find it difficult to pay more. Rempel added: “To Telus' management, ‘The inconvenient truth is that your customers, your employees, my constituents, and all Canadians, for all of them, you've made the future a lot less friendly by blindly supporting this tax.’” Late Wednesday afternoon, Goertz tweeted: “Please know that your input is important to us and I’m sharing your feedback so can move forward and improve.” The social media accounts of Telus’ competitors were not sitting idle, with Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and its Wind Mobile reps jumping in to the fray with messages of support for disgruntled customers looking for help in switching their service providers. Speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, an industry insider said that while taking a social stance is usually an easy way for a company to gain public support, Telus miscalculated. “So much of their base is in Alberta and that’s where people aren’t so keeon on the idea of a carbon tax,” they said in a phone interview, adding that “with the benefit of hindsight, it wasn’t that smart.” But, according to a telecom analyst, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, the social-media kerfuffle isn’t likely to have any material effect on Telus’ bottom line. “Let’s put it this way: as an analyst, I’m not changing my estimates,” they said. Despite the apology, the public didn’t appear placated. “.@Telus You are tone deaf. 10s of 1000s of AB families have lost their jobs + carbon tax will make it worse. I will cancel my service,” Tom Kmiec, a Calgary member of Parliament tweeted in reply to the mea culpa. “I’m sure the CRTC will appreciate your VERY political and partisan support, but you’ll have fewer customers #NoExcuses,” one user tweeted, while another replied “I don’t buy this ‘apology’ at all. Just as I won’t be buying your services in the future once my contract expires.” Telus spokesman Richard Gilhooley said in an email late Wednesday that the company is "passionate about the benefits that technological advances can bring to Canadians and businesses in a variety of areas, including those that help our climate." "That said, our tweet was inappropriate and we're very sorry," he said. "We are now in the process of reaching out directly to those customers who shared their upset and disappointment with us to ensure they know that we heard them. We are also sharing every piece of feedback internally so that we can inform our sustainability policies and initiatives going forward." Bell, Shaw, and Rogers didn’t respond to requests for comment. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

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Telus takes heat for backing carbon plan

News | October 5, 2016

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