TC Energy

In 2017, Michael Evanoff was tapped by former U.S. president Donald Trump to serve as assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security. In his testimony to the Senate foreign state committee, he detailed his previous experience in the foreign service, noting he had completed eight overseas postings, four of which were designated high threat. “Among other things, I established the first [diplomatic security] liaison position with a U.S. military regional command, managed the largest Russian spy case and damage assessment in NATO history and designed a post-9/11 informant ‘walk-in’ program at our Islamabad embassy that contributed to the capture of Khalid Sheik Muhammad,” he said at the time. A leaked recording of a February TC Energy “lunch and learn” session featuring Evanoff and his colleagues is now pulling back the curtain on internal company discussions, including its apparent strategies about how to influence governments, benefit from geopolitical crises and leverage existing relationships with a range of senior government officials — including the head of Canada’s spy agency. The conversations, reviewed by The Narwhal, provide fresh insight into how some senior officials at the company believe they are locked in an existential battle as governments around the world move away from fossil fuels in an effort to address the climate crisis. They cover a wide range of discussions about international events that could seriously affect the business of TC Energy and other fossil fuel companies, such as President Joe Biden’s recent decision to pause new permits for liquefied natural gas exports. “Our focus as a team is to look at what exposes us to hostile complex threats such as nation-states using asymmetric tactics, cyber-threats exploiting vulnerabilities, geopolitical uncertainties impacting global markets and supply chains and evolving regulatory challenges,” Evanoff said on the recording. While there is nothing unusual about a large multinational company recruiting top politically connected talent and prioritizing robust security measures to protect its assets, most details about their strategies are often tightly guarded secrets. In an emailed statement, Patrick Muttart, TC Energy’s senior vice-president of external relations, said TC Energy was “disappointed” that recordings of its recent “lunch and learn” sessions “were released externally without authorization.” Muttart added TC Energy’s operations include providing energy to customers “in North America and around the globe” but did not elaborate on how the company gathers intelligence about geopolitical issues. Julia Nesheiwat, a former U.S. military intelligence officer and homeland security advisor to Trump, said she and her colleagues are “on the battlefield trying to work every day to protect the TC tower.” In response to The Narwhal’s questions, Muttart, the company’s senior vice-president, explained the company’s mission was to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy that powers homes and businesses around the world. TC Energy builds and operates natural gas pipelines across North America. In Western Canada, the company recently completed construction of its Coastal GasLink pipeline, connecting underground shale gas reserves in B.C.’s northeast to LNG Canada’s liquefaction and export facility in Kitimat. Photo: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal “To achieve our mission, we engage with all levels of government and across every community where we operate,” Muttart said. “With governments, opinion leaders and policy-makers across jurisdictions, our role is to advocate for the changes needed to ensure energy security, job creation, affordability and sustainability. We do so for our colleagues, for our customers and for the communities where we operate. We do so with solid, robust and compliant practices and policies for engagement, while always looking for ways to improve.” On the February call, Evanoff said the company is actively working to influ