What That National Observer Article Got Wrong — And What to Share With Council
To residents and councillors in municipalities with PCP programs or climate-action plans underway:
You may have seen this article making its way into council discussions:
“A weaponized AI chatbot is flooding city councils with climate misinformation”
— Rory White, Canada’s National Observer
It’s being widely circulated by municipalities where PCP participation or climate-action targets are in progress. But before you take it at face value, here’s what you need to know.
📰 1. The National Observer is not a neutral source.
The Observer has well-documented financial and editorial ties to climate advocacy networks — including Tides Canada / MakeWay, the Climate Action Network, and U.S.-based foundations that support UN climate frameworks. It routinely promotes ICLEI Canada and the PCP program while discrediting those who question them.
This article was not an “investigation.” It was a one-sided attempt to frame legitimate civic participation as dangerous.
✅ 2. KICLEI was sent questions — and we gave full, public answers.
Before the article was published, KICLEI received a list of questions from the Observer. We chose to respond in writing, to ensure accuracy and transparency. We published our full answers before the article appeared.
📎 Read our responses here:
🔗 When the Questions Reveal the Narrative: KICLEI`s Responses to the National Observer.
📎 Official KICLEI rebuttal to the article:
🔗 RESPONSE TO NATIONAL OBSERVER’S “WEAPONIZED CHATBOT” ARTICLE
❌ 3. ICLEI was also sent questions — and gave no answers.
In 2024, we sent an Open Letter to ICLEI Canada, asking clear questions about the governance, costs, and municipal oversight of the PCP program.
ICLEI never responded to the letter.
Instead, they created a so-called “misinformation page” — dismissing our questions and attacking our credibility, without addressing the issues.
📬 Open Letter to ICLEI Canada (still unanswered):
🔗 Open Letter to ICLEI Canada: Request for Information on ICLEI's Origin, Program Implementation, and Funding Sources
🌿 4. What KICLEI actually stands for
KICLEI Canada is a subscriber-funded, member-driven, non-partisan initiative. We’re made up of citizens — including councillors, farmers, scientists, and small business owners — who believe in:
✅ Environmental stewardship, not vague “sustainable development” mandates
✅ Public transparency on program costs, international ties, and net-zero impacts
✅ Local priorities first, not externally imposed global targets
✅ Real pollution reduction, not CO₂-focused spending that burdens municipal budgets
CO₂ makes up just 0.04% of the atmosphere. Of that, only 4% is human-caused — and Canada contributes about 1.6% of that total. Yet municipalities are being pressured to spend millions to cut it, often without public debate or clear cost review.
📩 5. What you can do
If you’re a resident:
Forward this to your mayor, councillors, and clerk. Ask:
Has council been shown KICLEI’s side of the story?
Why is an editorial article being placed on municipal agendas without our responses?
Will our municipality review these programs transparently before committing to more spending?
If you’re a councillor:
Please take the time to review both the Observer article and the full context linked here. No council should be making major budgetary or policy commitments without hearing from all sides.
We’re not calling for bans. We’re calling for informed consent, financial clarity, and municipal autonomy.
Lastly, KICLEI Canada is not a chatbot. We’re a growing civic initiative defending the right of Canadians to participate in shaping local policy — with facts, respect, and confidence.
We welcome dialogue, presentations, and public discussion.
Maggie Hope Braun
Founder, KICLEI Canada
📩 info@kiclei.ca
🌐 www.kiclei.ca
