Blog posts
With the spate of news & reports on environmental monitoring (or the lack thereof) in the oilsands region, monitoring is on the mind of a couple of AEN members.
Laura Bowman of the Environmental Law Centre posts on the need for an independent environmental monitoring agency:
…a clear, unambiguous commitment to better monitoring resources and stronger federal and provincial oversight at the approvals stage is still glaringly absent. What the oilsands really need is a well-resourced agency with the expertise and independence to be a bold regulator.
Pembina's Terra Simieritsch writes on the importance of water quality monitoring, and asks some questions of the federal & provincial governments:
Will limits be set and will laws be enforced? And ultimately, if the data points to unacceptable changes in the Athabasca River, what are the federal and provincial governments prepared to do?
Melissa Gorrie posts on the Ecojustice Canada blog about the Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act and why Albertans…
"…should be concerned about the risks the government is taking with their health and the ecosystem and must call on government to amend this legislation before it is implemented."
Over at the Pembina Institute blog, Jennifer Grant posts about the ERCB's apparent "flip-flop" on the rules for oilsands tailings production; David Dodge introduces us to Pembina's new Executive Director; and Clare Demerse reports on the just-concluded UN climate talks in Cancun.
Following the recent release of new mining pollution data — compelled by a lawsuit by MiningWatch Canada & Great Lakes United — the Environmental Law Centre's Laura Bowman posts on the "sorry state of access to pollution data in Canada":
The question remains, does anyone even know the environmental impact from spills and routine releases from industry and municipalities in Canada? Is it even possible for anyone to find out if there are reporting and access to information barriers?
As the Alberta government ramps up its oil sands public relations campaign, AEN member groups weigh in, and call on the government to focus on action rather than advertising. The Pembina Institute's Danielle Droitsch suggests that Alberta should pay heed to the mistakes made by BP and direct its energies towards aggressive action rather than public relations:
In the case of oil sands, public relations will go only so far to countering a growing image problem. It will likely take a dramatic gesture as suggested by the premier's council for the public in both Canada and the U.S. to take notice.
John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada, suggests that:
If the Alberta government really wants to change public perception it will take a lot more than an ad campaign and a website. Actions speak louder than words.
The Pembina Institute's Jennifer Grant sets the record straight on some facts in Pembina's recent report, Northern Lifeblood: Empowering Northern Leaders to Protect the Mackenzie River Basin from Oil Sands Risks.
Downplaying, or ignoring unresolved tailings risks is not helpful at a time we need stronger policies and more publicly available information to inform responsible management.
The Pembina Institute's Chris Severson-Baker posts on Capital Power's application to renege on a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions at their Genesee 3 coal-fired power plant. The commitment was part of the original approval to build the power plant.
…allowing companies to renege on environmental commitments made at public hearings once projects are operating would be set a dangerous precedent and completely undermine the credibility of the Alberta approvals process.
Read more »
Accountability and transparency are essential principles of democracy, but when it comes to managing Alberta's environment they can sometimes be in short supply. The Environmental Law Centre's Jason Unger discusses accountability in the regulatory approval process, the lack of a legal remedy to address broken promises, and proposes two legislative changes to address the issue.
The word “accountable”, meaning “responsible; answerable” (Black’s Law dictionary 9th ed.), evokes the idea that we must pay the piper for unmet promises…
…It seems, however, that accountability for environmental impacts and decisions related to them are becoming increasingly elusive.
The Pembina Institute's Nathan Lemphers goes on a quest in search of emergency preparedness plans in case of a oil sands tailings lake breach, and finds only secrecy and a lack of transparency.
Communities downstream of the oil sands are already skeptical about whether the Government of Alberta and oil sands operators are diligently managing the impacts and risks associated with oil sands development…
…A lack of transparency around tailings management is only adding to the skepticism and concerns.
Despite the opposition of public interest groups, including AEN members Ecojustice, Sierra Club Canada, and the Environmental Law Centre, and a recommendation from the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate voted to pass the budget bill (C-9) including provisions to weaken the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The Environmental Law Centre's Adam Driedzic weighs in on the impacts on the environmental assessment process and the "exclusion of the public from decision-making on matters of public interest."
You don’t have to be an environmentalist to be concerned with this one. For the second straight year, the federal budget bill passed with Trojan horse provisions unrelated to the budget. The perennial target is the federal environmental assessment regime, but the real victim is the public.
