Recent leaks of toxic tailings from northern Alberta oilsands mines have revealed serious flaws in how Canada and Alberta look after the environment, observers say.
Some accuse the federal government of abandoning the province. Others point to what they call a captive provincial regulator. All agree that thereB次元官网网址檚 no way leaks from Imperial OilB次元官网网址檚 Kearl tailings ponds should have gone unreported for nine months to both Ottawa and Edmonton, as well as the people who live near it.
B次元官网网址淲e have never taken this issue seriously,B次元官网网址� said Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary resource law professor and former federal regulatory lawyer. B次元官网网址淭hey have never taken these risks and these threats seriously.B次元官网网址�
Imperial discovered B次元官网网址渂rown sludgeB次元官网网址� near one of its Kearl tailings ponds in May and it became clear over the summer the problem was significant.
However, the Alberta Energy Regulator didnB次元官网网址檛 update First Nations or inform federal and provincial environment ministers about the issue until Feb. 7, when it issued a protection order after a second Kearl release of 5.3 million litres of tailings from a catchment pond. Federal legislation requires Environment Canada to be notified of such leaks within 24 hours.
B次元官网网址淭he biggest learning from this is that the province has oversight and control over what information the federal government is receiving,B次元官网网址� said Mandy Olsgard, a toxicologist who has worked on regulatory issues for the Alberta Energy Regulator and Indigenous groups.
Ottawa joins in the review panels that assess projects then mostly back away, Olsgard said.
B次元官网网址淭hey just hand it off to the province.B次元官网网址�
And then the province hands it off to a regulator that many consider too close to the industry itB次元官网网址檚 supposed to oversee.
B次元官网网址淭his regulator has always thought of its relationship being bilateral, between itself and industry,B次元官网网址� said Nigel Bankes, a retired professor of resource law at the University of Calgary. B次元官网网址淣ever triangular, never a three-legged stool involving the public.
B次元官网网址淔or me, this (Kearl release) just confirmed all of that.B次元官网网址�
That attitude is pervasive in the provincial government, Bankes said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a general message of donB次元官网网址檛 rock the boat,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t permeates the department of energy and it permeates Alberta Environment.B次元官网网址�
A survey conducted in 2021 for Alberta Environment found more than 85 per cent of Albertans had little confidence in the regulatorB次元官网网址檚 ability to govern industry, in that case coal. The survey also reported Albertans found the agency reluctant to release information and was not very transparent.
Both federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and his Alberta counterpart Sonya Savage have acknowledged things need to change.
B次元官网网址淲e need to take a step back and say B次元官网网址榃hat are the processes? Were they followed? And do we need to enhance them?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Savage said this week. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e committed to taking the step to enhancing all of those processes.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e need to find better mechanisms,B次元官网网址� said Guilbeault.
But Marlin Schmidt, the Alberta New DemocratB次元官网网址檚 environment critic, is skeptical.
He said the province and the regulator have already refused to tell him the scope and timeline for the investigation of the leak. Savage wouldnB次元官网网址檛 commit to making the results of the investigation public, Schmidt said, nor would she promise to release results from an internal investigation into whether the regulator followed notification rules.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no investigation into what process led to the failure, nor any commitment to improving,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e just shrugging our shoulders and hoping next time things work out better.B次元官网网址�
The Kearl situation shows it can be a mistake for the federal government to B次元官网网址渉armonizeB次元官网网址� regulations with the provinces and delegate oversight to them, Olszynski said.
B次元官网网址淕iven the kind of politics in this province, we could have seen that coming,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e should have known that these folks arenB次元官网网址檛 talking very well together, so you might want to rethink these arrangements that depend on them talking together.B次元官网网址�
Olszynski said oilsands operators should now be required to report spills or any other unscheduled releases directly to the federal government.
B次元官网网址淚 think it is time for Environment Canada to take a much more proactive role in tailings management,B次元官网网址� he said.
The Kearl situation has made one thing clear, said Olsgard.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 made it obvious to the public that there are not good processes between the provinces and the feds.B次元官网网址�
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
