Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN blacklist
Provincial government states it will not halt company's oil sector involvement.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns
Photograph: Narcity (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador will not prevent Ithaca Energy from operating in its oil sector.
- Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli company blacklisted by the UN for human rights concerns.
- Premier Tony Wakeham stated the acquisition "bodes well for our industry" and declined to comment on Ithaca's "political things."
- Legal experts suggest governments and corporations could face risks if they do not intervene in the acquisition.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
18/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador has indicated it does not plan to halt Ithaca Energy's entry into the province's oil sector. This decision comes despite Ithaca Energy's majority ownership by Israel's Delek Group, a company that has been blacklisted by the United Nations due to activities raising human rights concerns. Premier Tony Wakeham stated that the acquisition "bodes well for our industry" and chose not to comment on Ithaca's "political things."
Disagreement on legal implications
Human rights advocates and a legal expert have raised concerns about the acquisition. Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, called the acquisition "unacceptable" and stated that political leaders are obliged to avoid economic dealings with companies involved in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, according to the International Court of Justice. Heidi Matthews, an assistant professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School, suggested that the provincial government's characterisation of Delek's ties to the occupation as 'political things' is "inattentive to the realities of their commercial dealings." Matthews also indicated that federal and provincial governments, along with Suncor and OilCo, could face legal risks if they fail to intervene.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the specific stakes in the Terra Nova, White Rose, and West White Rose offshore oil projects that Ithaca Energy is acquiring from Suncor.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 18 Oct 2026, 02:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Premier Tony Wakeham says Ithaca Energy’s entry into the Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil sector “bodes well for our industry.” On the issue of Ithaca’s majority owner being blacklisted by the United Nations for it’s involvement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Wakeham said he doesn’t want to comment on Ithaca’s “political things”. Kenny Sharpe.
theindependent.ca — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led with the provincial government's intention to allow Ithaca Energy into the oil sector despite its ties to Israel's alleged occupation of Palestinian territory. These reports highlighted that Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Delek Group, which the UN has blacklisted for activities raising human rights concerns. The coverage included statements from human rights advocates and a legal expert, Heidi Matthews, who warned of potential legal risks for governments and corporations if they do not intervene. The reports also quoted Michael Bueckert of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, who stated that political leaders are obliged to avoid economic dealings with companies involved in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine. The International Court of Justice's findings regarding the illegality of Israeli settlements and the obligation of states to prevent trade with them were also referenced.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- Centre-rated reports focused on the provincial government's stance on Ithaca Energy's entry into the oil sector, noting the company's majority ownership by Delek Group and the UN blacklist. These reports included Premier Tony Wakeham's statement that the acquisition "bodes well for our industry" and his refusal to comment on "political things." The coverage also mentioned that human rights advocates and a legal expert have raised concerns about the potential legal implications for governments and corporations involved in the acquisition.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 83% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN… biased?
- Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN blacklist is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Newfoundland and Labrador to allow Ithaca Energy entry despite UN…?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Will Newfoundland and Labrador stop Ithaca Energy from entering its oil sector?
- No, the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador has stated it does not intend to stop Ithaca Energy's entry into the province's oil sector. Premier Tony Wakeham indicated the acquisition "bodes well for our industry."
- Why is Ithaca Energy's ownership a concern?
- Ithaca Energy is majority-owned by Israel's Delek Group, which the United Nations has blacklisted for alleged involvement in activities that raised particular human rights concerns. This connection has led to calls for intervention from human rights advocates and legal experts.
- What are the potential legal risks mentioned?
- A legal expert suggests that federal and provincial governments, along with Suncor and OilCo, could face legal risks if they fail to intervene in the acquisition. This is due to Delek Group's alleged ties to activities violating international law in occupied Palestinian territories.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns – The Independent (opens theindependent.ca in a new tab)
theindependent.ca — is theindependent.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns (opens St Catharines Standard in a new tab)
St Catharines Standard — is St Catharines Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
- N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
- N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns (opens NiagaraFallsReview.ca in a new tab)
NiagaraFallsReview.ca — is NiagaraFallsReview.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- N.L. faces ‘serious liability questions’ over Ithaca Energy’s entry into province’s oil sector, legal expert warns (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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